The Transformed: Saga I: Rise of Good and Evil
by Charem
Summary: ﻿3 kids and a dog in our world get transported to Tai and Co.'s world by a strange evil.Everyone in Tai ﻿and Co.'s world has been transformed into Digimon.The kids and the dog are turned into Poke'mon.﻿The main character strives to fi
1. It All Starts Here

Chapter 1: It All Starts Here  
  
"Huff, puff! Made it!" I exclaimed to myself.  
  
I had made it to the slaughterhouse late, once again. Before running inside through the double doors, I took a moment to gaze at the bold, scarlet letters on the side of the 2-story building that said, 'Tanner Middle School'.  
  
'Dumb name', I thought as the wind made my blond hair itch like crazy. I scratched it while hurrying inside.  
  
"...And so we divide x to the fifth power, by that causing y to become 89...." I charged into Mr. Gerald's classroom in the middle of his algebra lesson. "Why, if it isn't Mr. Binning!" Mr. Gerald said sarcastically. "Late again?" The class giggled.  
  
I didn't answer, and took my seat.  
  
"Xaiver, you really should try coming earlier." It was John, my only friend, who sits next to me. He was 12 years old, but seemed only nine. He had red, wavy hair, a few freckles, topaz-colored eyes, and a pleasant smile.   
  
"Don't start on me, Shortie." That was a nickname I made up for him.  
  
The lesson was as boring as heck. With his wrinkly skin, black-rimmed glasses, and monotone voice, Mr. Gerald couldn't get any duller.   
  
After my math, history, language, and health classes, it was lunchtime. '8th grade couldn't get any worse...' I thought as I headed down to the cafeteria.   
  
Once there, I went to my usual table, where John was already sitting. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked as I sat down.  
  
"Awful, horrible, catastrophic. Also known as normal." I responded.  
  
"What can a 13-year-old like you expect?" he commented.  
  
"I guess you're right." I agreed.  
  
"Hey, what do ya have for lunch today?" he asked. He pulled his lunch out of his Spider Man lunch box. "I have...an apple with a mushy spot, some string cheese, a ham and chicken sandwich, and some chocolate pudding."  
  
"A banana, a slice of cherry pie, cheese sandwich, and some peanuts for me." I answered, pulling my lunch out of my brown sack. "By the way, another year with that lunchbox and people will think you're in the wrong grade level." I added.  
  
"Shaddup." John shot back.   
  
The rest of the day went smoothly-my remaining classes of science, Spanish, and computer had nothing new thrown at me (although I was even more bored). Then, school was out.  
  
The day was abnormally sunny and warm for a day in January. I wrapped my coat around my waist, put my Nike backpack on, and headed home, accompanied by John. As we headed for his house, which was before mine, we talked about how our personal lives were going.  
  
Ten minutes later, John was talking about what was going on with him.  
  
"...So then after we got our dog to let go of the beaver, we...." John stopped. We were at his house. "Oh. Well, see ya, Xaiver." he said.   
  
"Bye, Shortie." I exclaimed. As I watched him enter his two-story, red house, I saw his black lab jump on him and bark happily (knocked him off his feet, that lab did). I then thought about what Mom was making for dinner that night. I quickly headed home to find out. 


	2. Something's Amiss

Chapter 2: Something's Amiss   
  
"Mom, what's for dinner?", I yelled across from the front door to the kitchen. I entered and plopped down on our black leather couch. Mom came out from the kitchen.  
  
"Xaiver, how many times have I told you not to yell in the house?", she responded with a look of annoyance.  
  
"About 1,740 times." I replied. "By the way, I wasn't actually in the house when I yelled. Therefore, I didn't break any rules."  
  
"Oh, you know what I mean" Mom said. "and we're going to be having cheese and chicken, mashed potatoes, and blueberry pie tonight."  
  
"Cool." I inquired. "Sounds good."  
  
"Yes, well," Mom stated. "I've got to get back to my cooking."  
  
After she had left, I tossed my backpack against the wall, got the remote, sat down on the couch, and turned on the television.  
  
"Tonight on the news..." went the TV.  
  
'Nope' I said to myself. *Click* went the remote as I changed the channel.  
  
"I love you, you love me...." 'Barney?! No way!' *Click*  
  
"As we watch the majestic lion feast on its kill....." 'Nada.' *Click*  
  
"On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln...."   
  
'Borrrring.' *Click*   
  
"And now, back to Super Guy and the Incompetent Villain!" 'Bingo.'  
  
After vegging out with Super Guy for a while, I heard a sound from the window. Looking across from the room, I saw my tabby jump on to the windowsill. From there, it acrobatically jumped from the sill to the chair, on top of the TV, and onto the couch.  
  
  
"Hey there, Tiger-" I started. "AHHHH!" Tiger proudly displayed a bloody, dead mouse.  
  
I jumped out of my seat and ran into a nearby lamp stand, which, of   
course, had a lamp. It flew into the kitchen from my impact.  
  
"CRASH!"  
  
"AHHHHH! MY DINNER!"   
  
A pause. "AHHHHH! MY LAMP! XAIVER HORMAGEN BINNING!!!!"  
  
'Ooops.....' I thought to myself. Mom came out, covered in goopy cheddar cheese with bits of chicken here and there. "GO UPSTAIRS TO YOUR ROOM!!!!" she screamed.  
  
After my punishment, I went out and had dinner. Dad and Angela, my sister, were home, and they were as happy at me as Mom was. Basically, they weren't happy. We had leftovers, since I ruined dinner.   
  
That night at 9:00, I was told to do my homework. After brushing my teeth I went into my room to attack my assignments.   
  
After laying on my plaid bedspread for an hour or so, I had trouble studying. 'Time for bed...' I thought. I threw my books on the floor and turned off my purple bedside lamp. I closed my eyes.  
  
'!?'  
  
I woke up on a road in the middle of a ruined city. It was daytime, but not one human being was in sight. I shivered. I was quite chilly, but was right next to a fire. 'This has got to be a dream.' I thought. I wandered around for a while, confused at best. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. I turned and.....  
  
'Huh?' I blinked. I was sitting up, in my room, in bed. "Heh, must've been just a dream...thought so...." I reassured myself. 'But it seemed so real....' I kept thinking. I was too sleepy to think about it..... 


	3. It's Not Hypothermia

Chapter 3: It's Not Hypothermia  
  
"BUZZZZZ!" my alarm went off. '7:00 already?' I thought.   
  
I got up. 'Yep, 7:00.' I got dressed.  
  
'Huh...?' I was still freezing, just like in the dream last night. I checked the temperature in the hallway outside my room. 70 degrees? 'Huh. Well, I'm sure it'll pass.' I thought.  
  
I headed downstairs for breakfast. The family was sitting around the table. Dad was reading the paper, and Angela was painting her nails.   
  
"Hi, honey." my mom said when I got downstairs. "I fixed you pancakes." "Thanks, Mom." her pancakes were good. I sat down at the dining table across from my dad, who was reading the paper. Mom brought my pancakes over.   
  
"Son," Dad said without looking up from his paper. "You need to be more careful when moving around the house."  
  
I hesitated. "Am I still in trouble?"  
  
"No," said Mom. "But be more careful, okay, honey?"  
  
"Sure, whatever." I responded.  
  
"Yeah, little bro." said my sister. "Or I'll have to beat you up." I gave her a 'Yeah, right...' look.  
  
"Well," said Dad, standing up and closing his paper. "It's off to work for me."  
  
"See you, Dad!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Sayonara." Angela said while drying out her nails.  
  
"Bye, sweetie." Mom said, with a kiss on my old man's cheek. And he headed out the door.   
  
Dad was going to his routine job of construction work. He was a strong, burly man, perfect for such a job.  
  
Angela then finished drying her nails (normal girl stuff, I guess) and stood up.   
  
"See ya." she said to Mom and me and hurried out to her car. She was a pretty good sister to have, though she was 17. She worked at Ron's, a restaurant, where she was a waitress.   
  
I finished up my pancakes, put my books in my backpack, said goodbye to Mom, and left.  
  
'Late again...' I thought. I ran inside the school. Passing a clock in the hallway, I saw it was 8:03. 'By three minutes, I'm late...Darn it!'  
  
I was still cold, but the school was always very warm. 'That's it, I'm talking to someone about this.....'  
  
".......the circumference is then the multiplied by 5, revealing the radius to be...." I ran into Mr. Gerald's classroom, just like yesterday.   
  
"Well, Mr. Binning! Let me see-is that the twentieth time in a row you've been late?"  
  
'Har har.' I thought. Sitting down at my seat, John gave me one of those 'why don't you just get up earlier?' looks. I returned it with a 'shut up' look.   
  
After math, history, and language, I went to health class. Mrs. Sanya taught this class, a young woman with long, blond hair. A very pleasing person to be with.   
  
After class, I lingered at my seat while everyone left.  
  
"Hey," John said. "let's go to lunch."  
  
"Go on ahead of me, Shortie." I responded. With a shrug, he left.  
  
"Xaiver, shouldn't you go?" said Mrs. Sanya. I stood up and looked around. No one was there. I took a deep breath.  
  
"Mrs. Sanya, I've been having a small problem lately...." She looked atme.  
  
"Health-related?" she asked.   
  
"Yeah, I guess." I responded. "............."  
  
"Well?" she pondered.  
  
"I've......I had a dream last night.....I felt chilled to the bone in it....ever since then, I've stayed chilly...." I stammered.  
  
"Huh..." Mrs. Sanya thought about what I said.  
  
Would she believe me?   
  
"I wouldn't know what to say...but I believe you're telling the truth."   
  
"You do?" I questioned.  
  
"Yes..........but I can't make any assumptions unless I knew more....."  
  
I turned to leave.   
  
"Wait...if you for me to figure out more, go to my house tomorrow."  
  
"Okay..." I said carefully.  
  
She opened her desk and took out a piece of paper and a pencil.   
"Here's where I live." she said as she scribbled the address on the paper. "I'll conduct a few harmless tests." She got up from her seat and handed me the paper.   
  
I nodded, and left. 


	4. Lurking In the Bushes

Chapter 4: Lurking In The Bushes  
  
"No kidding?" went John.  
  
"I'm not lying." I said with a serious look.  
  
I had just explained to John about my dream, my chilly problem, and how Mrs. Sanya wanted to talk with me.  
  
It was lunchtime, the perfect place to talk in secrecy. The chaotic environment kept anyone and everyone from hearing something you had to say, unless you wished for them to hear it.   
  
John bit into his sandwich. "I dunno, Xaiver. I know as much as Mrs. S."  
  
"And that is...?" I questioned.   
  
"Nil!" He exclaimed in a matter-of-fact way.  
  
"RING! RING!"   
  
"There's the bell..." John said. "We should get to science class."  
  
The rest of the day was annoying. My classmates were seeing me shiver and asking me, 'Need a blanket?' or 'Should I turn up the heat?'   
  
After school, we went towards Flie Avenue, where John's house was located. It was another of the usual days outside: cold, cloudy, and just plain depressing. But it was Friday! No kid, big or small, would be depressed right before the weekend!   
  
"Wait just a minute!" John suddenly exclaimed as we turned the corner. "Remember what would happen today?"  
  
"Ummmm...no." I said with a shiver that felt a lot stronger than before.  
  
"We arranged a sleep over today! You and your parents invited me over, and I have my gear in my backpack."   
  
"Oh, yeah!" Now I remembered. Then a problem dawned on me. "Darn....now we'll have to walk a lot farther...."  
  
"Maybe...not." John said strangely, looking past me. I turned. He was staring at a small path that went through a grove of trees. "That should bring us straight to your house."  
  
John had some great ideas, sometimes. "Good plan. Let's go!" We started on the trail.   
  
After walking 5 minutes, John said, "We should be almost there....."  
  
"Snap! Crash!" a sound came from the foliage!   
  
"Huh?! What's that?!" John stopped. I did the same.  
  
Something was coming out of the bushes near us. My heart stopped.   
  
"AAHHHH!" John screamed as he backed away.  
  
Out came a little puppy. It cocked its head and whined anxiously at us. "Wuhnnnn?"  
  
"Look what scared us, John!" I said, half laughing.   
  
"Heh....Heh....Ha!" John burst. "HAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
I went over to the dog. It was a cute little rascal, a golden retriever pup. It had no collar. When I crouched down, it immediately ran to me and licked my hand.  
  
John came over. "I think it's a stray." I inquired.  
  
"Hey, why don't you keep it? It looks neglected and we should help it out." he suggested.  
  
"Mom doesn't like dogs...." I said sadly.  
  
"We could let it hide out in your room for tonight. Then we could figure out something."  
  
"That would work." I stood up with the dog in my arms, looking content.   
  
"Alright! Now let's go to your house-it's getting dark."  
  
After unzipping my backpack halfway and putting the puppy in it, we continued along the trail. It did provide a good shortcut, after all, as we saw my house immediately after leaving the grove. 


	5. Chain Reaction?

Chapter 5: Chain Reaction?  
  
"Howzabout.....Fido?" inquired John.  
  
"Not original." I said.   
  
John, the dog, and I were in my room on my bed discussing on a name for the pup. It was 8:00, and we had just eaten dinner. The dog was sound asleep on my lap.  
  
"That's all I can think of." John said with a shrug. "What about you?"  
  
'Hm.' I thought, staring out my window. "Maybe.....Ro."   
  
"Wha? You can't row without a boat..."   
  
"No, Shortie!" I said with a laugh. "R plus O. Ro."  
  
"Xaiver, that sounds perfect!" he enthusiastically stated.  
  
"Yep, it just fits for some reason." I said, petting the dog. "So that'll be his name." John nodded.  
  
I reached over to a pile of comics on my nearby desk and grabbed one.   
  
"...I have to make a confession...." John suddenly said.  
  
"Huh?" I questioned, putting the comic book back.  
  
"I've...I've been having a strange...shivering problem, too....since Thursday night, after a dream I had."  
  
"Wha?" I was bewildered. "That sounds..."  
  
"....Like you. I know. I....had the...the same dream as you..." he stammered.   
  
It was true. I had seen John shake a little now and then, but it was at times I would think it would be just because it wasn't that warm.   
  
We just sat there for a few minutes, yet it seemed like hours. Finally, John spoke again.  
  
"I wonder...what this means..." I thought the same way.  
  
Suddenly, a heard a knock on my door. I set Ro behind my pillow and went to the door. I opened it. Angela was there.  
  
"Hey, I'm making popcorn, if you guys want some." she said, leaning on my door frame.   
  
John perked up. "Extra butter?" he said anxiously.  
  
"Sure." my sis responded. See why she's a pretty good sister?  
  
Popcorn is a great way to help a problem, and ten minutes later, the three of us were down in the living room, eating it and watching the tube. I reminded myself to save some popcorn for Ro upstairs. Mom came in the room, dressed very elegantly in a red sparkly dress.   
  
"Angela, how nice of you to make popcorn for the boys." she said with one of those pleased smiles.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." sis said, not even paying attention.  
  
"Well, I and your father are going out to dinner now." Oh, that's right. They said they were going out a little while ago. Dad came out at that moment, dressed in a tux.   
  
"Well, I'm ready to go, sweetie." he said to Mom.  
  
"We'll be going now." Mom said to us three. We all said goodbye, and they left the house.   
  
"Boys, I'll see you tomorrow." my sister said, standing up.   
I gave her a look. "Huh? This is early..."  
  
"I haven't been feeling well. I've got this shivery feeling, ever since last night, when I had a weird dream. With a capital W." she explained.   
"Don't stay up too late."   
  
After she had gone upstairs, John and I looked at each other.  
  
"Did she say......." John started.  
  
I nodded. 


	6. Assassin

Chapter 6: Assassin  
  
10:26. That was the time John, Ro, and I went to sleep. After filling up Ro's stomach with popcorn, we let him 'go' outside in the backyard. We were careful not to alert my sister.   
  
We had then noticed, back in my room, that the dog was shivering. The temperature was not cold enough to induce shivering though. Both John and I both knew: Ro had my, John's and Angela's problem, too.  
  
Now I was in my bed with Ro, who was curled up on my pillow by my head. John was already   
asleep by my bedside, in his sleeping bag. As I closed my eyes, I thought to myself, 'Wonder what's going to happen tomorrow...'  
  
"EEEEEEK!" I woke up to a scream. Sitting up and turning on the light, I saw that the clock read 12:00. Midnight. Ro and John had also woken up from the scream, and both seemed scared.   
  
"The heck?!" John said.   
  
I rushed to the window. I could not believe what I saw.   
  
My sister, in her nightgown, was outside in the backyard. A large being in black armor was approaching her!   
  
"AHHHHH!" she screamed again.   
  
I looked at John. "My sis is being attacked by a strange armored freak! We have to help!" I ran out the door.  
  
"Strange armored freak?!" he said, confused, and ran after me.   
  
We then scrambled downstairs, not even replacing our PJ's with normal clothes. Ro followed us, close behind.   
  
We exited to the backyard. The guy saw us, and hit my sister with his arm, knocking her to the ground.   
  
"Angela!" I yelled, my anger building. She did not get up. "You big freak!"  
  
"Hm. Mice." said the being, staring coldly at the three of us with completely red eyes. "I will make your death quick!" He pulled out a large sword.  
  
"D-death?!" John expressed as he backed up. "N-no way!"  
  
I stood my ground. "Rrrrrrrr...." went Ro, standing his ground too.  
  
John ran back inside the house.. 'I can't believe him....' I thought.  
  
The armored fiend charged, sword readied. I jumped to the side, and Ro ran between his legs. I went over to a nearby flower pot, and threw it at him! It shattered in midair as the guy skillfully hit it with his sword. 'What the-this isn't working!' I realized.  
  
  
After some more dodging, Ro and I were exhausted. 'We won't last long......'   
  
"Hey, freakazoid!" a voice from the door! I looked. "John!" I said.  
  
John was at the back door, holding a antique vase of my Mom's. It was fully made of diamond. He threw it with all his might at the giant! ......And it was obliterated by another sword blow.   
  
"Diamond...is.....indestruct......AHHHH!" John screamed.  
  
"Ha! Your weak effort is useless!" the guy boasted. ".....Eh?" The being paused as John regrouped and got beside Ro and I. "Interesting...." he said. "All four of you are......ha."   
  
The guy raised his hand. My muscles tensed. Then I began to feel....woozy. I feel in a heap to the ground, and John and Ro quickly did the same...I heard one last statement from the guy.   
  
"I knew the girl was...but these three, too? Ha...well, I'll see how they'll fare....." 


	7. Human No Longer

Chapter 7: Human No Longer  
  
I opened my eyes. "Ohhhhh..." I groaned, feeling sick to my stomach. I was laying on the ground, face up, staring at canopy of trees. It was still dark. I stood up slowly.   
  
"I feel like I've been hit by a train...." I said aloud. "Wha?" I was standing-wasn't I? Everything seemed taller....  
  
I wondered over to a nearby pond in a clearing.   
  
"Maybe some water on the face will clear my thinking." I mumbled to myself. I bent over to splash some water on my face....and froze. My reflection in the moonlit water-it wasn't me!   
  
"Ah-ah-" I stuttered, backing away confused and afraid. 'Okay....I didn't see what I saw. I'll now go back and I'll be completely normal.' I hoped.  
  
Slowly, I advanced back to the pond. Carefully, I peered into the water.  
  
"AHHHHH!" I was completely disfigured.   
  
I was only about four feet tall now, and looked like some kind of lizard. I was almost completely red, except for some white area on my belly and on the underside of my new tail. Looking at my shaking hands, I now had only three fingers, all clawed. My feet were T-rex-shaped, with three clawed toes. My new tail extended out behind me and sightly curled up. On the end of it was a burning flame, but it did not hurt me at all. Going to my face, I now had larger, blue-black eyes, on both sides of my head. My nose was gone, and I now had a muzzle, like a dog's, with two nostrils on the end of it and my mouth placed exactly like a dog's. To top it all off, I had a strange 'horn' extending slightly back off the top of my head.   
  
I plopped down on the ground, petrified. 'Get a hold of yourself, Xaiver. You've got to figure out how to become human again....' I slowly reassured myself. Suddenly, I realized something was gone. My shivering problem no longer existed!   
  
"Well, one thing good happened today." I snickered grimly.   
  
I was back in my right mind, so, naturally, some new questions popped up. Who was that armored guy? Did he bring me here? Where is here? What happened to Angela, John, and Ro, assuming they had a similar fate?   
  
Splashing my face with water, I found it hard to keep the water in my new hands. After refreshing myself, I looked around me. The forest I was in was dense, at least where I was. It was still night, too. I noticed a dirt trail just to my left, which went back into the woods. I decided that was as good a start as any, so I began trekking along it.  
  
I heard the sounds of the local wildlife as I continued along the path. Finally I saw another clearing up ahead. 'Huh?' I stopped. Did I hear something coming from the clearing? I listened   
carefully.  
  
"Ha, we should just eat 'em right up, sir! He'd make a fine meal, though small!" a voice said.  
  
"Yeah, who cares if he seems different, let's just fill our bellies!" another voice chimed in.  
  
"SILENCE, IDIOTS!!" said a third voice. "He is different, and studying him might reveal something worthwhile!" This guy was obviously the leader.  
  
I crept closer, keeping my distance. I saw three green, ogre-like creatures, each with a club, debating whether or not to eat, likely, the nearby creature which were tied up on a tree.  
  
It looked like a dog, a little over two feet tall. He had mostly orange fur, with one V-shaped stripe on each of his front legs, and two straight stripes on each of his back legs. He had bushy, white fur on top of his head, his chest, and on his tail. He also had just plain white fur on his belly and around his wide mouth. His face contained two black eyes, a black nose, and two big ears extended from each side of his head.   
  
I backed up so the ogres wouldn't see me. 'He's gonna die, or be tortured, or something....and he probably suffered the same fate as me.......I've gotta help, but can my new self rescue him?' There was only one way to find out. I charged out of the clearing. 


	8. Beast's Best Friend

Chapter 8: Beast's Best Friend  
  
"Aaggh!" went one of the ogres as I charged into him. He and I went down hard-and he didn't get up.   
  
"The hell-get 'em!" said the leader ogre to the ogre that I hadn't hit. He surprised me as I rose from my previous charge and tried to club me. I barely avoided. The blow was so powerful that he got off-balance. I took the opportunity and kicked him square in the head, collapsing him instantly.  
  
"Aw, forget it! I'll do this!" said the leader ogre, raising his club. As I ran up to him, I was surprised by a very quick-and powerful-blow to my stomach. I was knocked back a long ways, and barely had enough time to get up before he was right there with another blow. This time I was knocked back into a tree. As I was approached yet again, I saw an opportunity. Assuming a crouching position, I let him get close by, and jumped straight up, onto an overhanging tree branch.   
  
"What?!" said the ogre, confused. I wanted to end this. I jumped down-right on top of him! He was knocked out at the drop of a hat.   
  
I walked over to the dog-like creature. "Don't give me any trouble, but I'm going to untie you." I said firmly and cautiously, not wishing to have him turn on me. I worked the double knots on the other side of the tree until the 'dog' was able to fall to the ground.  
  
"Dank you!" said the dog, wagging his tail and panting. He stopped, with a confused look on his face. In a second, he was at my feet, sniffing my leg.   
  
"What the-stop it!" I said, startled.   
  
The dog stopped. "You master! You name me Ro!" it said, happier than before.  
  
"Huh?! Ro!? Is that you?!" I gasped. 'It must be. He's acting just like the former Ro.' I thought. "You bet it me!" he said with a serious look. "Don't you believe me?"  
  
It had to be him. "Yeah, I do." I admitted. "What happened?"   
  
"I woke up all weird-looking, and den mean guys grabbed me!" Ro said. "Dey tied me up all tight, and talked about eating me."  
  
"That's not all I heard...." I said, suspicious of what those ogres meant.   
  
"Yeah, one of dem talked about how different I looked." Ro agreed. "Dunno what dey mean. Well, wat should we do now?"  
  
"Hm. Well, we both are no longer human...or dog in your part. You gained the ability to speak the English language, at least I think it's English." I speculated, summing up the situation. "I guess we should......go through there," I pointed to a nearby path. "because, if we're lucky, it's an exit from this forest."   
  
"Good idea." said Ro. "Let's get outta here!"  
  
"Wait....actually, let's see..." I walked to the ogres' backpack. It was made of black leather. Searching it, I found six sticks of jerky, a flashlight with no batteries, and a black bandana.  
  
"Whadja doing?" Ro asked.   
  
"Just...getting some stuff that may help us." I answered. I put all the items back in, except for the bandana. I tied it and slid it down on top of my head, positioning it on my forehead. I got up and grabbed the backpack. "I'm ready now. Let's go!" 


	9. City of Chaos

Chapter 9: City Of Chaos  
  
"Hey, danks back dere." Ro said with a wag.  
  
"No problem, Ro." I said. "I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
"Um......" Ro started, jumping a log.  
  
"What is it?" I questioned, curious.  
  
"I wanted ta know sumting." Ro answered.  
  
I stopped. "Go ahead."   
  
"Well, I wanted ta know..." Ro started. "Why did you put on dat bandana?"  
  
"Heh." I smirked. "It looks cool." Black was my color.  
  
"Ah!" Ro smiled. "Hey, you not shiver anymore!"  
  
"Yeah, you noticed?……Well, we better keep going." I stated, wishing to get out by dawn.  
  
After walking further, Ro again asked a question.  
  
"Uh, where are we going?"  
  
"Well, first we'll get out of this forest, then we'll figure out what to do next." I answered.  
  
We walked further.  
  
"I shivered, too." Ro said out of the blue.  
  
"Yeah? I kinda figured that." I recalled the time just a little while ago when Ro shivered on my bed.  
  
Further.  
  
"Dis is boring. I'm tired." Ro complained.  
  
"Well, here's the exit, I think." I responded, seeing a sign. "Seems we're in Tokyo." The sign said: 'You are now leaving the Tokyo City Park. Have a nice day.'  
  
"I'm outta here!" Ro said. With new energy, he ran out of the forest.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Ahhhh! Master! Come out here!"  
  
"Ro?!" I ran as fast as he could. "What is-oh my word....."  
  
As I joined Ro at the ridge overlooking Tokyo, I saw the worst carnage ever. Buildings crumbled, fires burning.....and there were people....no...creatures....everywhere.  
  
'Wait…'. Everything looked like in my dream! Short of these creatures.........   
  
"No…" I said under my breath. "This place.....all of this......"  
  
"Huh?" questioned Ro.   
  
"….This is....all...like my dream..." I clenched my fists. 'That scumbag! You did it!' I thought, thinking of the armored man. Why not? I could see that guy doing this….he was pure evil, after all.  
  
"…What dream?" Ro responded.  
  
"A dream...involving this destroyed city. What's going on?!" I was confused.  
  
"..........." Ro turned suddenly, facing me. "Let's go in dere and ask people wat happened!" he said with a proud smile.  
  
I looked at the dog. "Right….but first, we'll catch some Z's!"  
  
"Hunh?" Ro whined, confused.   
  
"Sleep. We'll sleep. Right over under that tree." I pointed to a large oak.  
  
"You're wight…I'm sleepy…" Ro agreed.  
  
After removing the backpack, I settled down on the hard ground beneath the tree. Ro streched out on my belly, and he dozed off almost instantly. I now realized that he was kind of heavy, and nearly my size. But I let him stay where he was.  
  
It was then I felt sad. It was the helpless kind of sad, which can be the worst one. I thought about Mom and Dad….home….the things I knew. Would I ever see them again? Would I taste Mom's pancakes ever again? Would I hear Dad's rough but soothing voice?   
  
I cried silently, thinking of the irony of actually wanting to have the same kids make the same jokes about me…wanting to hear the next creative sarcastic remark from Mr. Gerald…..  
  
I cried myself to sleep. 


	10. A Capture Viewed

Chapter 10: A Capture Viewed  
  
"Woah!" I awoke, amazed by a wonderful sunrise. "Hey, Ro! Look!"   
  
"Mmmm...five more minutes...." he was still half asleep. I pushed him off my stomach.  
  
"Hey!" Ro said as I got up and stretched. He stood up groggily.   
  
"Look at the sunrise!" I said again. He looked.  
  
"Kinda pretty." he admitted.   
  
The sun was rising from the hills past the far side of Tokyo. The city looked much better in the sun's vibrant rays. Still wrecked, but better.  
  
"We should eat!" I happily said. The sun had put me in good spirits.   
  
"Wat can we eat?" Ro pointed out.  
  
"We have some jerky." I said, grabbing the backpack. I fished inside until I found two pieces. I pulled them out.  
  
"Catch." I said, throwing one to Ro. He caught it in his mouth.   
  
"Yummmm…." he mumbled as he chewed it up. I took my first bite of my piece. Delicious!   
  
Once we polished off our sticks, I closed up the backpack and put it on. But Ro looked at me with a confused look on his face.  
  
"What?" I asked.   
  
"Dat's it?" Ro said.  
  
"Well, we need to conserve our food. We each had a piece this morning, and if we each eat one for lunch and for dinner, we'll have…….."  
  
"Okay! Okay! Fine!" Ro interrupted. "Let's just go!"   
  
I shrugged. "Okay, let's go into Tokyo and figure out what happened."  
  
We walked down the hill and followed a highway into Tokyo. The highway was in shambles; cars were crashed everywhere. Collided with trees, each other, the side railing, or just off the road. We saw dead bodies in some of the cars, which we tried to ignore. It made me feel sick.   
  
Downtown Tokyo. That's where we arrived about an hour and a half later. We knew it was downtown because there were those cheap convenience stores and fast food joints. And apartments. There were a whole ton of apartments, all red brick. Many had five stories, some had three, some seven. Besides their size, they all looked the same.   
  
"Dis is not wight." Ro suddenly stated. "No one is here..."  
  
"Huh. Actually, we haven't seen one person, unlike last night." I recalled. "Why?"  
  
It was then I realized that this scene was exactly like the setting in my dream. Exactly the place. Exactly the time. If this was the place, then I knew we would hear a loud sound soon.  
  
"Ro.....if we hear a loud racket, sort of like a collision, we-"  
  
"CRASH!" the sound! The exact sound!  
  
"C'mon!" I yelled, and hid in an alleyway. Ro ran next to me.  
  
"What's-" Ro started.  
  
"Shhh!" I ordered, and turned to the direction of the sound.  
  
The noise was made across the street, at one of the apartments, through an open front door. I heard people yelling, but couldn't make out what was being said.   
  
"Ro." I quietly said. "Can you understand what they're saying?"  
  
He perked up his ears and inched closer, making sure to stay in the alleyway. "Dey are talking about...hummm..." he inched closer. "....something like....do not fight.....like your friend....come.......quietly?.....Something like dat." Ro crept back.   
  
"So basically, don't resist, or you'll end up like your friend. Just come quietly." I summed up. Ro wagged.  
  
Then several creatures moved quickly outside through the door. The first two were holding guns, and were geared up like soldiers. They was followed by seventeen other creatures, who were obviously the captives.   
  
Two of the seventeen looked like cats, except with strange gloves on and a ring on their tails. One of the felines was holding a creature that looked like a light-pink ball with two stringy ears and some brown hair.   
  
The next duo looked like cute plants, with red flowers on their heads. The next two somewhat resembled oversized chickadees, both pink. Following them were two small brown and white creatures that resembled gerbels, save the way oversized ears. The two after them looked, in the words of my sister, adorable. They appeared to be seals, with interesting mohawk-like hair.   
  
Then came out two creatures with tiger-like fur, a dinosaur-like tail, and a horn on their foreheads. They had two normal arms, and then two other arms. These alternate arms seemed like they were simply fur. One of the 'tigers' seemed a little...different...somehow.  
  
Following them were two bug-like creatures, that simply looked like ladybugs gone bad. Looks can be decieving, though. These insects seemed to be the most frightened of the captives.  
  
The next prisoner was a lone dinosaur-like creature. He was orange, and seemed to bear a small resemblance to the tiger beasts. He was holding a little cat-like creature, with long ears and tail. But it didn't seem to have any arms.  
  
The last prisoner was being held in a soldiers' hands. He seemed to be knocked out. He was blue, and looked like...well, he didn't really look like anything I'd ever seen before. He also had a V-shaped symbol on his forehead.   
  
"Dey don't look happy." Ro whispered.  
  
"Of course they're not happy, dummy. They're prisoners." I whispered back.  
  
"Weally?" Ro was surprised, for some reason.  
  
"Yeah, what did you think, Ro? That they were being yelled at and held at gunpoint for kicks?"  
  
"Well, I dunno..." Ro responded.  
  
"Ah, never mind. Look!" I directed.  
  
Several more soldiers came out. One looked like a tall monkey with sunglasses. The other looked kind of like the creature with a V on its forehead, except much taller and with some nifty armor on. He pressed some buttons on a weird device.  
  
"Alright, let's get these civilians outta here." said one of the soldiers. At that point, the crowd went out of view.   
  
  
"What should we do....?" I pondered.  
  
"We follow dem quietly and see wat's up." Ro suggested.  
  
"Hey, good idea, Ro. Let's go-quietly."   
  
We snuck around the corner, and used a broken-down car to conseal ourselves. We watched as the prisoners were forced into the back of a truck. The vehicle obviously wasn't originally made for prisoners. It seemed that a steel fence was placed into the flatbed to make a cage. There was barbed wire wrapped around each bar so no creature could leave the cage. There were many other trucks, in rows of about five, next to the one the prisoners were loaded into.   
  
"I'm guessing we need to get on that truck." I pointed at the one with the captives we had watched. It was the closest to our location.   
  
"Um, where?" Ro asked simply. He was right. There was nowhere to be on the truck without being seen....except....  
  
"We'll need to hold on the bottom." I said slowly.  
  
"Wat? I can't hold on with deese!" Ro presented me his paws as proof.   
  
"Fine, I'll hold you." I admitted.  
  
"Kay! But how do we get over dere without being seen?"  
  
"Well, mayb-" I started.  
  
"DAD!" suddenly, one of the creatures called out.  
  
"Wat's up?" Ro said, confused.  
  
We watched as the tiger creature looked over at the truck beside him, looking quite frantic. The guards were beginning to notice the incident.  
  
"Time to go. C'mon!" I told Ro.  
  
We dashed over to another car, several feet from the truck. There was a guard maintaining his post, even with all the commotion, only a few feet away from us.  
  
"What now?" Ro said quietly.  
  
"Watch." I picked up a small rock and carefully looked over to the left side of the car, which was behind the guard. I surveyed the area and spotted a garbage can.  
  
"Perfect." I snickered, and threw the rock at the garbage can. It hit the garbage can, making the guard turn his head. I must have thrown the rock very hard, as it bounced off the trash can and landed squarely on the guard's forehead. He fell back, knocked out.  
  
"Man, you good!" Ro praised me.  
  
"Uh, yeah...I meant to just distract him, though....oh well, go with what works."   
  
We slunk under the truck. As I tied the backpack around a vehicle part, the commotion got louder. It sounded as though there was fighting going on in the bed above us, as someone had cried out in pain.   
  
"The engine's going!" Ro said. He was right. I finished my tight knot, put Ro on my belly, and got a good foot and hand hold on the truck.   
  
As we sped off, we heard someone crying in the bed above. I then wondered what would happen next.... 


	11. Barrel Equals Object of Mass Destruction

Chapter 11: Barrel Equals Object of Mass Destruction  
  
As the truck rode on, I had time to put two and two together on the situation. Apparently, the people capturing the civilians were members of the Japanese Army. It had stayed organized, even with the disaster, and now were capturing all the transformed citizens of Tokyo. I couldn't really blame them on doing so; the people were rioting. With the army out and about trapping the civilians, it was no wonder that we didn't see any on our way into the city. They obviously were hiding out, so they would not get captured by the army.   
  
I also determined, by eavesdropping from the bottom of the truck, that the citizens caged in the truck bed above were just kids around my age. They didn't sound hostile or mad, thanks to their change. They certainly weren't happy, but they seemed like themselves. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask them what exactly happened while I was knocked out in the forest. They'd certainly be the best to talk to.  
  
Which raised a new problem. See, we were likely going to an army base. And the kids were likely going into a prison when we got there. What would we do, walk into the prison and tell the guards, "Hi! We're just some creatures you don't know, and we'd like to talk to some of the prisoners."? That would get me and Ro thrown in the jail, too!  
  
I filled in Ro of my assumpions. He pondered it for a moment.  
  
"Well, dat's interesting..." he said.  
  
"Gives you any ideas?" I said.  
  
"Naw, none yet. How're you doin', holding onto the pipes like dat?" he asked, emphisizing my grip on the bottom of the vehicle.  
  
"Now that you mention it, it's killing me." and it was. I could hold on for the remainder of the ride, but it would really, REALLY hurt until then. Ro was quite a weight.  
  
"Well, it not too good for me, either." Ro responded.  
  
"Yeah, why? All you have to do is make sure you don't fall off my stomach."  
  
"Well, de engine noises are really killing my ears." Ro covered his ears with his paws to prove his point.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is pretty loud." I admitted.  
  
We rode the rest of the trip without any conversation. I tried to think of any more leads, but none came to mind.   
  
Finally, the truck slowed to a stop. I breathed a sigh a relief and carefully dropped to the ground on my back. I knew that if we made any noise, we could get caught. I motioned Ro to get off my stomach, turned over, and watched to see what would happen to the kids from under the truck.   
  
We heard the sound of several soldiers unlatch the cage gate, and tell the kids to get out in a line. Watching the back of the truck from our location, we saw the kids get out. They were escourted by the guards to a deep and noisy pit close by. The hostages were thrown into the pit, then the guards walked off.  
  
"What now, Xaiver?" Ro looked at me with a concerned look.  
  
"Oh, man...Didn't expect this....let's get a closer look at this pit." I said, crawling out as far as I could without being revealed.  
  
What I saw was amazing. The were hundreds of creatures, obviously all civilians, in the pit. The place was kind of makeshift, as far as pits go. It was lined with trucks acting as walls. On top of the trucks were several guards, armed with assault rifles. In the open places that the trucks were not at was quite a bundle of barbed wire, also with guards standing by. I then realized what this place was: a shopping mall. The large area most of the creatures were at was the parking lot. The prisoners were given tags by a flying guard...well, more like forced. All the prisoners were entering the mall now, through what would have been the front doors. The doors were ripped off, however. We could no longer see what was ahead.  
  
"Ha ha ha ha!" Ro laughed.  
  
"Ro! Quiet down! What's up?" I said urgently.  
  
"I was watching da kids! The little ball bounced around and the gerbil thing picked him up in the air and flew around a little bit! Too bad dey in da building now; dey probably are doing more fun stuff inside. You missed it?" he snickered.  
  
"I was examining the topography of the area." I said, irritated.   
  
"What's togophatty?" Ro looked at me, puzzled.  
  
"Topography. It means landscape."   
  
"Sounds stupid." Ro bluntly said.  
  
"Look, do you want me to burn you with my tail? Be quiet." I muttered.  
  
"What we do now?" asked Ro.  
  
"Well, this is all much different than I thought....I have no clue what's going on in that mall."  
  
"We going to find out?"  
  
"Bingo." I said.  
  
"Oh, I get it." Ro started. "We gonna get along da mall and enter through dat vent right there."  
  
I looked where Ro was looking. Sure enough, there was a vent on the corner of the building.   
  
"Great idea, Ro! The ventalation probably goes through a lot of the building. And we won't have to worry about guards if we're careful."  
  
"You didn't know? I mean, yeah! I pretty smart!" Ro said, caught off-guard.  
  
"We better hurry. Let's move." I said.  
  
We were in a dirt parking lot that was about a football yard length away from the mall entrance. I knew we could crawl underneath the trucks used as a wall to get to the mall, but there was a significant gap between the 'wall' trucks and the truck we were at. We could definitely be spotted while moving to the wall trucks by the guards with the rifles. There wasn't much in the area we could be seen at, except for a barrel within arm's reach-if I were human. With my reduced arm length, I couldn't reach the barrel. And Ro certainly could not.  
  
"If we could just push that barrel over, we could roll it down to the pit, and create a distraction long enough to run under the line of trucks. But it's out of reach." I summed up to Ro.  
  
"Humn..." Ro mumbled, and looked up at the bottom of the truck we were under. "Use your tail and burn off dis pipe, den use it to push the barrel over."  
  
"Ro, where would I be without you?" I said while grabbing my tail and putting the flame at the pipe.   
  
"Dead or someting." Ro responded.  
  
"...............Won't burn?" I said, confused. My flame seemed real enough, but it wasn't doing anything to the pipe.  
  
"Maybe you gotta will your tail to burn the pipe." Ro suggested.  
  
"Ah......worth a try." I agreed. "Okay....burnburnburnburnburn burnburn!" It worked! After singeing the pipe in two places, I pulled at it. It gave way quickly.   
  
"Yay!" exclaimed Ro.  
  
I slowly but firmly pushed the barrel to its side. It was very heavy, but I was able to push it over without making much noise. I got out from under the truck just far enough so I could give the barrel a hard push with my foot. It began to roll toward the pit.  
  
"Awight! It worked!" Ro said as I got back under the truck.  
  
"Um....not quite." I pointed to the barrel. Thanks to the angle of the pit, the barrel was now going to the trucks furthest away from us. It looked like we messed up big time, as the truck rolled past the trucks silently. But then....  
  
The barrel somehow bounced backwards VERY high in the air. Several guards noticed it and actually started shooting at it. The made all the prisoners frantic, and alerted all the guards. Several guards said things like, "It's a missile!" and, "We're being attacked!" The big finish was where the barrel landed: right on top of a guard standing on a truck.  
  
"Let's-Ha ha ha!-go, Ro!" I dived out, laughing at the scene, to the first truck in the line as Ro followed close behind. We quickly crawled our way to the vent on the building.  
  
"Dat was silly! How you do it?" Ro asked me as I pulled out the vent cover.   
  
"Just lucky, I guess." I said simply. "Maybe getting turned into a lizard increased my luck!"   
  
I got the cover off as the prisoners and guards started to figure out that it was just a barrel. We crawled in the surprisingly large vent, and crossed our fingers-or claws, actually-that we would continue to have good fortune. 


	12. Finally Caught

Chapter 12: Finally Caught  
  
I was right. There were quite a few paths in the ventilation. However, all but the one we were on went straight up. Have you ever tried to climb stainless steel? Don't try. Not to mention some of the vertical paths had fans moving quickly inside them.  
  
"I hope da heat doesn't turn on." Ro said.  
  
"Don't worry, Ro." I responded, looking back at the dog. "The heat can't run without power. The power plants around here can't run without workers. And with the disorder right now, I doubt there are any."  
  
"Wat about generators? Dere could be one of dose here." he said back.  
  
I shrugged. "Guess you're right. We'll just have to hope that this place doesn't heat up."  
  
Ro looked past me, wide-eyed. "I don't think dat's our main problem now."  
  
I looked forward. "What the heck is that?!"  
  
Moving slowly toward us was a strange robot-like machine attached to the ceiling of the vent. It sported spinning razor blades jutting out from every angle. There was one open spot, where it had a red light, presumably the eye.   
  
"I think that's the army's way of keeping out intruders!" I said quickly.  
  
"Dey know we're here?!" Ro exclaimed as we backed away.   
  
"No, it just seems to be making its rounds. Let's get outta its way-Ro!" Ro had stopped moving, and I had run into him.  
  
"Dere's...a....gate..." Ro said dismally.  
  
I looked back. Sure enough, a metal gate had come from nowhere, and prevented us from going any further.   
  
"What now!!?" Ro said, scared. I thought about what we could do next....   
  
I looked up. "Where there's a will, there's a way!" I had remembered about the fan blades. They were not that far up, and I easily reach them. "I'm gonna singe the fan so it falls off, Ro!" I said, while placing my backpack to the side and carefully raising my tail to the base of the fan.  
  
"Ahhhh....I'll keep the robot busy!" Ro said back.  
  
I accurately melted the metal so the blades would fall off. All the while, I heard Ro say, "Back, back you stupid thingy! Don't make me mad!"  
  
The blades fell in front of me. "Here's where it get interesting." I smirked. "Get outta the way, Ro!" After Ro had gotten next to me, I charged the robot, fan blade in front of me. As I reached the robot, I thrust the blade with all my might into the mech's eye. It crackled and sparked for a second, and then began spinning aimlessly, still working.  
  
"We getting it destroyed!" Ro smiled.  
  
"Yeah, but it's still in our way..." I had two more fan blades in front of me. I took one and began pusing the robot the other direction. It didn't put up much of a fight, in its condition. I got to another vertical vent passage.   
  
The robot was designed to run in all the shafts, so it wasn't hard pushing it up into the upper passageway; with the fan blade lifting it, of course. Once the robot was out of the way, I motioned Ro to get by with the backpack. I then quickly let go and moved forward before the robot crashed down. It landed on its side, unable to move and still running.   
  
Later on, we reached a vent cover. We looked around the room it entered into. It was a small office, with no one in it. So I gave the vent a few kicks, and it fell out. As we crawled into the room, I realized how organized I was. Something I hadn't seen for a while.  
  
"Really clean, isn't it Ro?" I said, wanting the dog's opinion.  
  
He was looking at the backpack. "Uhhh...yeah....can we eat?"  
  
"Sure. Here you go." I said, pening the backack and throwing him a jerky stick. He gobbled it up quicker than he had this morning. I took one myself and ate it.  
  
"How many left?" Ro asked.  
  
"Umm..." I started, glancing into the backpack. "Two left. Enough for one more meal."  
  
"Kay." Ro simply said.  
  
As I finished my jerky, I surveyed the room. To the right of the vent was a desk, made of some polished wood. To the right of that was several tall file cabinets. Next was a smaller desk, with many papers on top of it. Last, there was a door.  
  
I tried the handle of the door, and it didn't budge. "There's gotta be a key somewhere...." I said aloud.  
  
As I fished around inside the drawers, I went over the plan with Ro. "When the doors' unlocked, I want you to go out and quietly see if you can talk to one of the kids."  
  
"Which ones do you want me to talk to? Ones with clothes or ones without clothes?" Ro strangely asked.  
  
I paused. "What do you mean by 'with or without clothes'?"  
  
Ro laughed. "Didn't you see dat half of dem were wearing clothes?"  
  
I resumed searching. "I guess I didn't notice."   
  
"Well, one of da birds was wearing a helmet, one of da plants was wearing a big hat, one of da bugs was wearing a backpack, one of da tigers was wearing a yellow shirt, and one of the seals was wearing glasses." Ro summed up. "Oh yeah! And one of the cats was wearing a shirt, scarf, and whistle!"  
  
I shook my head. "How did you notice all these things without me seeing it, too...." I suddenly found what I was looking for among the papers of the small desk. The key. "Ah, never mind..."  
  
As I unlocked the door, I continued the plan. "So, after you talk to one of them, any of them, tell him or her to come back here, to this room. Tell 'em that they can escape. Alright?" Ro nodded.  
  
I opened the door very slightly and slowly, and Ro snuck out. I then closed the door.  
  
After what seemed like hours, I heard some scratching on the door. Opening it, Ro slunk inside.   
  
"How'd it go?" I questioned.  
  
"I talked to da tiger with da shirt. He looked different."  
  
"Different? How?"  
  
"Um, a little more human, I guess." Ro loosely said.  
  
I leaned against the door. "Okay, now this getting confusing....how did he get more human?"  
  
"Don't look at me." Ro responded.  
  
"Ah, well, what did he say in response?" I said while trying to put two and two together.   
  
"He didn't say anything. I dunno if he believed me...." he answered. "It was easy ta talk to him, though."  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
"Da place is a place with beds an' food an' stuff. No cages!"  
  
"Hmmm...A refuge? Interesting. I never would have expected this..." I guess things can be a lot different than they look.  
  
"Yeah!" Ro agreed.   
  
All of a sudden, someone outside yelled, "He's gonna blow!"  
  
I hit the desk beside me with my fist. "Great, now we have to deal with a bomb?"   
  
The door swung open at that point. Before I had even turned my head toward the intruder, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. It was a traquilizer dart, administered from a guard standing expressionless in the doorway. My vision blurred as I fell to the floor. 


	13. A Lot of Conversation

Chapter 13: A Lot of Conversation....  
  
"Yeooww..." I said as I opened my eyes. After a few seconds, my eyes focused. I was in a jail cell, sitting on the hard concrete floor. Ro was next to me, asleep on his side.   
  
"C'mon buddy, wake up." I said to Ro. He didn't respond. I then realized that we were tranquilized. If he was given the same dose as me, he wouldn't wake up for a while.  
  
As I stood up, I was hit with a wave of nausea that made me sit down on the bed next to me. "Ohhhh..." I moaned. The drug had not fully worn off me, as I could tell. I closed my eyes, trying to bear my sickness.  
  
"Are you the dog's friend?" I opened my eyes and look to where I heard the voice. In the next cell was a tiger-like creature wearing a yellow shirt. He was leaning against the wall.  
  
"Ummm....yeah..." I said, too drugged to say very much.  
  
"I think your escape plan didn't work." he said coldly.  
  
I then realized that this could be one of the kids that was captured.   
  
"Are you the one that came here with a lot of friends?" I said softly.  
  
"How did you know? What are you, spies?" said the tiger with a hint of anger.  
  
"Kinda..." I said, not worrying about what I was saying. "We were...watching you for a while, you and your friends, and waiting till we could get you out."  
  
"Well, fine. That sure worked well. What's your name, anyway?" he stated indifferently.   
  
"I'm Xaiver. And that...." I pointed to the snoring dog. "Is Ro. Your name is....?"   
  
The tiger closed his eyes. "Matt."  
  
"Well, Matt, have any clue what the heck is going on?"  
  
"You should rest. You look awful." Matt said, avoiding my question.  
  
"But..." I started.  
  
"I'll tell you later." he reassured me. "Just go to sleep."  
  
Sleep? It sure sounded good. I nodded and collapsed onto the mattress. It was surprisingly comfy for how unmaintained it looked. I quickly dozed off.  
  
"CRASH!" I fell out of the bed, onto the floor against the wall.  
  
"Ha ha! Rude awakening, huh?" Matt said, sitting on the edge of his bed.  
  
"Ow...." I exclaimed. I was on my back. My head was on the floor, supported by my arms. My back was half against the wall, in effect pointing my tail straight up. However, the tail could not stand vertical, so it fell onto my belly and into my face. It was a very embarrassing position!   
  
I edged off the wall and quickly got up. Matt was still laughing. "W-what's so funny?" I demanded.  
  
Matt stopped laughing and regained his previous seriousness. "I see you're feeling better. Would you like to know about what happened now?"  
  
"Uh, sure." I stated.  
  
Matt laid down on his bed. "I'll tell you whatever you ask."  
  
"Um...." I was surprised that he was being so open all of a sudden. "Tell me what's going on?"  
  
"To put it simply, it was me and my friends' faults."  
  
"What?" I figured I had heard wrong.  
  
"All of us caused all this. People getting transformed into Digimon, and such."  
  
"Digimon? What are those?" I questioned.  
  
"Oh yeah, you don't know anything. Forgot." Matt muttered.  
  
"Hey, I know some!" I shot back.  
  
"Not of the big picture." Matt mysteriously said.  
  
"Well, then help me figure out this 'big picture', Matt."  
  
"There is another world, the Digital World." Matt said. "There live Digimon. They are like superintelligent animals, but they are comprised of data."  
  
"Data? Like a computer?" I compared.  
  
"Exactly. Me and some of my friends are the Digidestined. We saved the Digital World from evil."  
  
"Oh, so all eighteen of your friends are the Digidestined." I summed up.  
  
Matt shook his head. "No. Only about half of us are the Digidestined."  
  
"So, who aren't?"  
  
"......." Matt paused. "Let's try this a different way. Ask me about any of my friends, and I'll tell you about them."   
  
"Okay...who's the dinosaur?" I asked.  
  
"That would be Agumon. He's Tai's partner Digimon."   
  
"Partner Digimon?" I again questioned.  
  
"Well, we Digidestined can't just fight evil alone." Matt started. "We have our own Digimon to help us."   
  
"Ah, okay." I stated. "So, who was the thing that looked like a head?"  
  
Matt thought hard. "Oh, you must mean Tai. He has been turned into a Koromon. He's one of the Digidestined."  
  
"Huh." I thought about the other characters that had been on the truck. "Alright, who are those cats?"  
  
"One's Gatomon, and the one with the clothes is a transformed Kari. Gatomon is Kari's partner Digimon." Matt grinned. "And Kari is Tai's little sister- and a Digidestined."  
  
I leaned against the wall. "Okay, now who are the bugs?"   
  
Matt stared at the ceiling. "Tentomon and Izzy. Izzy's the one with the backpack. Tentomon is Izzy's patner Digimon, and Izzy's our computer expert Digidestined."  
  
"And the 'gerbil things', as Ro puts it?" I quoted.  
  
"Patamon and T. K." Matt sighed. "I guess you know what I'll say next?"  
  
"T. K.'s the one with the hat, he's a Digidestined, and Patamon is his partner Digimon." I responded. "Why do all the Digimon's names end with 'Mon', anyways?"  
  
"It's just that way." Matt answered. "Anyways, T.K.'s my little bro."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yep." Matt confirmed. "Well, on with the questions, hm?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." I said. Matt obviously didn't want to talk about his little brother anymore. "The plants. Who were they?"  
  
"Mimi and Palmon." Matt said. "Palmon is Mimi's partner Digimon. Mimi is a Digidestined, and is...."  
  
"...the one with the huge hat." I finished.  
  
"Yeah." Matt laughed. "She always says she has good fashion sense!"  
  
"Really." I said skepically. "Okay, now who are those birds?"  
  
Matt crossed his arms. "Sora and Biyomon. Biyomon is Sora's Digimon. Sora is the one with the helmet; she's a Digidestined, too. And also your average tomboy."  
  
"Okay. And the seals are...?"  
  
"Gomamon and Joe." Matt began. Gomamon is Joe's Digimon. And Joe is a Digidestined. Though not a very good one, I think."   
  
"Why's that?" I asked.   
  
"To put it short, he's a hypochondriac, pessimist, hesitant whiner. Still, he's good for comic relief."  
  
I chuckled. "Heh. Well, moving on, who is the little cat-like thing?"  
  
"Sara." Matt responded. "She's not a Digidestined, just a friend of Kari's that got mixed up in this. She was turned into a Nyaromon."  
  
"Lastly," I started. "who's the blue creature?"  
  
"Davis. He was turned into a Veemon, and is not a Digidestined. We met the little brat when he tried to rob us....but it's a long story."  
  
"Uh-huh." I said. "And you are a Digidestined, too?"   
  
"Yeah, and I was human. Now I'm a Gabumon." Matt answered. "Just like my partner Digimon.  
  
"Who's a Gabumon." I predicted.  
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Okay, so basically every human being got turned into Digimon?"  
  
"Yeah, that's a good way to sum it up." Matt agreed. "Except....you and Ro don't seem to be Digimon."  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, what do ya mean?" Ro opened his eyes and asked.  
  
"And just how long have you been up?" I demanded.  
  
"Um, long enough to hear 'bout all Matt's pals."  
  
I sighed. "I thought the tranquilizer would keep you down and out for longer than this."  
  
"Naw, it can't stop me!" Ro exclaimed.  
  
Suddenly, a guard walked up to our cells. He did not look happy.... 


	14. Reunion

Chapter 14: Reunion  
  
"Quiet down in there, you convicts!" said the guard.  
  
I observed the guard's anatomy. He looked kind of like a rhino that stood on two legs. He was completely covered in dark-grey rock. On the guard's nose was a horn that looked much like a drill.  
  
"You know what? I am sick of what you soldiers are doing!" I said, stamping my foot.  
  
"Calm down, Xaiver." Matt warned.  
  
I turned to Matt. "I don't care!" Turning back to the guard, I said, "In fact, I think you're a complete idiot!"  
  
"WHY YOU LITTLE!!" he guard yelled. He pulled out a beatstick and thrusted it into my chest throught he bars. I fell back due to the force of the blow.  
  
"Grrgh..." I winced because of the pain that arrived on my chest.  
  
"Master!" Ro exclaimed, and began growling at the guard.  
  
"Tell me your name!" the guard ordered.  
  
"Xaiver Hormagen Binning...leave me alone!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Xaiver....?" the guard said curiously. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "What is the name of your best friend?"  
  
"John Seryt." I answered in pain.  
  
"No...." said guard mumbled.   
  
"Hnuh?" Ro said, edging near the guard and sniffing. "John! Dat's you!"  
  
"What's going on?" Matt said, confused.  
  
"Xaiver, it's you!" the guard exclaimed.  
  
"John!" I stood up as the pain subsided.  
  
"I thought you were dead!" John said.  
  
"I can't be taken down that easily!" I stated, breaking a smile.  
  
"Hey, I'm finally taller than you, Xaiver!" joked John. Which was true; he was a couple feet taller than me.  
"Let us out of here, will ya?" I asked John.  
  
He promptly unlock the cell, and Ro and I dashed out. Now we were in a long hall, with one wall covered with cells, and the other with stacks of boxes and many, many file cabinets. The cells, I could now tell, were just holes made by a bulldozer or something similar, with bars added to them. It seemed to be the hall in the mall that led to the restrooms. The enterence to the hall had a block of metal blocking it, however, with a crude door in the middle.   
  
"Hey! I think you forgot something!" Matt said sarcastically. He was still stuck in his cell.  
  
"Let him out. He's with us." I told John.  
  
"That's better." Matt exclaimed after he had been let out.  
  
"So what are you doing here, John?" I asked.  
  
"Well," John started. "I woke up in the middle of Tokyo. I was so shocked about how I looked,   
I didn't move. After a while, the Japanese army found me and decided that they could use someone like me for guard work."  
  
John grinned. "I guess they thought I looked pretty strong!"  
  
"So now you're here, working guard duty." I summed up. "But how could you have been so mean, like you were with me a little while ago? That's nothing like you."  
  
"Come on, Xaiver! I'm not in my body, I have no clue where my life is going, and I had lost the one person I look up to!" John exclaimed. "How could I not be mad?"  
  
"He has a point." Matt inquired.  
  
"Who do ya look up ta?" Ro asked.  
  
John chuckled. "You, Xaiver."  
  
"Me?" I blushed. "I never knew you felt that way!"  
  
"Hey, let's focus on escaping now, hm?" Matt promptly changed the subject.  
  
"Okay, that's easy. There's a supply truck that's leaving in a half-hour. You can just jump in with the cargo." John responded. "What are you guys going to do?  
  
I explained to John the situation, about Digimon, the Digidestined, everything Matt had told me.  
  
"You aren't coming along?" I asked.  
  
"Well," John started. "I think I'll stay with my army position until later, so I can help you guys out with information."  
  
"Wait, let's not just get up and leave." Matt said. "We need to rescue my friends."  
  
John shook his head. "There was a jailbreak in the other cell block. All your friends already escaped. Except for that Tai fellow."  
  
"What happened to him?" I inquired.  
  
"Hold on..." John turned to a file cabinet nearby and began rummaging inside of it.  
  
"Ah, here it is." He pulled out a paper and began to read it. "It says here that Tai was taken to the Searheart Medical Hospital for tests."  
  
"Oh no..." Matt said, looking at the ground. "It must be due to his Digivolving recently."  
  
"Wat?" Ro asked.  
  
"When Digimon Digivolve, they become a more powerful form. When this happens with us Digidestined, we become a little more human. Now the army is trying to figure out how he became more human!" Matt detailed.  
  
"Great." I commented. "The guinea pig treatment."  
  
"The army is desperate. They could do anything with Tai." John added.  
  
John turned back to the file cabinet and searched around some more. He pulled out a map and unrolled it.  
  
"Now, here's where we are." he said, pointing to a building in the lower-right corner of the map. "And here is the hospital where Tai's at." John finished, directing our attention to a building on the north part of the map.  
  
"We can use this to get to the hospital, right?" I asked.  
  
"And if we go to save Tai..." Matt stared at the ceiling. "then we'll likely find my companions!"  
  
"Then let's go!" Ro said, happy to have a plan.  
  
"Wait, are items held by the civilians confinscated?" Matt asked.  
  
"Yeah." John responded. "Why?"  
  
"If we could get Izzy's computer, it would be extreamly helpful." Matt explained.  
  
"I could get my backpack while we're at it." I added.  
  
"Alright, go through that door." John said, pointing to a door in the back of the hall next to the restrooms. "All the stuff's stored there. Since you guys came here recently, it should be against the left wall when you enter the room. I'll stay here in case another guard comes in."  
  
"Okay." I said. Matt nodded in agreement, while Ro panted happily.  
  
The three of us headed through the door. We were amazed to see mounds of stuff just placed on top of each other, in no apparent order. I spied a familiar sight.  
  
"My backpack!" I exclaimed, pulling the half-buried pack from the junk. Inside, I found everything was still there. Plus, the bandana that had been taken from my head when I was tranquilized was in there, too. I decided to leave it there for now.  
  
"Izzy's computer." Matt smiled as he grabbed a laptop placed neatly on top of the other things there.  
  
"Let's hurry back ta John!" Ro bounced around us.  
  
As we exited the room, I felt very lucky to have friends in high places! 


	15. A Clean Departure

Chapter 15: A Clean Departure  
  
As we went back down the hallway, my stomach growled. I realized that it was probably past lunchtime. Maybe even past dinner.   
  
"Hey, do we have enough time to eat something before we leave?" I inquired as the three of us approched John, who was leaning against a tall metal box.  
  
"You're thinking of food at a time like this?" Matt scolded.  
  
"Hey, a kid's gotta eat." I responded.  
  
"And you are not a kid." Matt shot back.  
  
I winced at the reminder. "That hurt."  
  
"Hey, it's no problem." John responded. "I need time to think of a way to get you guys in the truck, anyway."  
  
John stepped away from the metal box he was leaning on and pointed at it. "The food's in here. Bon appetit."  
  
Matt leaned over and opened the door on the side of the box.  
  
"Wat our choices?" Ro asked, impatient.  
  
"Let's see..." Matt mumbled, fumbling around inside the box. "There's...white stuff, white stuff...or white stuff."  
  
"I'll have da white stuff." Ro said, oblivious to the fact that the three items Matt had listed were all the same thing.  
  
Matt pulled out three bowls of the soupy material. "It's really not that bad." he added. "I had some earlier."   
  
He handed me a bowl, and set one down on the ground for Ro. Ro carelessly gulped down the soup. Matt started on his bowl, using his paws to scoop up the slop.  
  
"What's wrong?" Matt asked between swallows, noticing that I was just staring at the bowl.  
  
"I...well...um..." Having trouble responding, I closed my eyes and hurriedly slurped up the gruel-like substance. It was better than I thought it would have tasted.  
  
As we were finishing the lunch, John walked back towards us. "I have a fool-proof plan." he said, grinning.  
  
"How fool-proof?" Matt questioned.  
  
"Don't worry." I said reassuringly. "John knows what he's doing."  
  
"I'm not worried!" Matt said.  
  
"Uh, well, anyhow, I would escort you three at gunpoint to the truck, and put you all in it." John continued. "Then I'd come back here."  
  
"Now wait a minute!" I stopped him. "You've never even held a gun before!"  
  
"I'll keep the safety on." John replied.  
  
"What 'bout any guards we come across?" Ro asked. "We gonna beat 'em up?"  
  
"No, I know just what to do in such an occasion." John said slowly. "You'll see what it is if we meet a guard."  
  
"Figures he won't tell us..." Matt stated under his breath.  
  
John reached behind a box and pulled out a shotgun. "Single file!" he ordered in a fake-serious voice. We formed a line, and John took the front. We marched to the enterance of the hall, and John pushed the door open with a grunt. We stepped into the main area of the mall, and John closed the door behind us. He led us again down the large hall of the shopping center.   
  
Looking around, I saw many creatures rushing around. There were more guards then I had expected. Most of the creatures seemed to be civilians, most of them wandering on the routes that the guards shouted out. They all looked looked scared, confused, or angry.  
  
Most of the numerous shops in the mall had bars across their entrances. A few stores didn't have any barrier, and were being used for several reasons. One shop had several guards lounging in comfortable-looking couches. It appeared to be a recreation area for them, where they could read, converse, or just nap.  
  
"That's not fair." Matt whispered from behind me, noting the relaxing guards.  
  
"Shhh." I whispered back.  
  
We reached a more open area that was obviously the food court. Several of the food businesses had guards giving out more of the slop I had so unwillingly eaten earlier. There were many windows showing the outside of the mall. These were barred off, however.   
  
"Hey, what are you doing?" I turned my attention back to the front to see who had spoken. A guard that looked kind of like a lion on two legs was speaking to John.  
  
"That's a Leomon." Matt informed me with a whisper.  
  
"I'm taking the prisons to the depot. They are being moved to another base." John cooly replied.  
  
"That's not what I'm talking about. Why are you letting them hold those items?" the Leomon replied. I realized that he was talking about my backpack and Matt's computer.  
  
"Rule 786 of the red book says that prisoners can be allowed to hold non-dangerous items if the escorter has no way of holding the items." John replied with a smirk.  
  
"What red book?" the Leomon replied quizzingly.  
  
"What?" John said with a gasp. "You forgot about the all-important red book!?"  
  
"Um, n-no! Of course not!" the Leomon shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I j-just remembered, I had something important to do! Carry on!!"  
  
The Leomon walked quickly away. "And you have witnessed my master plan." John whispered back at us.  
  
"Dat's better den beating dem up!" Ro replied happily, but a little loudly.  
  
"That rule doesn't even exist." John added, grinning ear to ear.  
  
We stepped over to the front door. John pulled out a key from the barrel of his gun and unlocked the door.  
  
"Why...?" I started as we walked out the door.  
  
"When you're not going to shoot it, use it as storage." John said, sliding the key back into the barrel.  
  
"You're better with guns than I thought!" I joked.  
  
I examined my surroundings. This was not the same area where all the trucks were lined up, making a barrier, with lots of civilians walking through. It seems we had left the building from another exit. We began walking down a sidewalk towards a new area.  
  
"This is the depot." John explained when we arrived. It was only a clearing with lots of trucks, boxes, and crates.  
  
John led us to a small building and told us to wait outside. Moments later, he came out beaming. "Alright, I found a truck that will take you straight to the hospital."  
  
"Great!" Ro said.  
  
We moved to the back of a truck that looked very much like the others. However, this one had a white canopy, unlike the other trucks with their green canopy.  
  
John looked around. "The coast is clear. Get in." he commanded. We crawled in. There was a lot of boxes just thrown in.   
  
"This truck is carrying medical supplies." John said from outside the truck. "Just sit tight and be quiet. See you later."  
  
John turned to walk away. "Be careful, John!" I said, concerned.  
  
"You too." John said over his shoulder. He walked back to the mall.  
  
"Well, this is comfortable." Matt said sarcastically, referring to the numerous boxes that we had to sit on  
  
Minutes later, the truck sprang to life. I sat back to relax as we drove off to the main road, thinking about what we were going to do when the ride ended... 


	16. Make Sure to do Revenge on a Full Tank o...

Chapter 16: Make Sure to do Revenge on a Full Tank of Gas

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I expressed out loud as I was looking inside my backpack.

"What's wrong with you?" Matt asked from across the truck.

"Yeah, wat up?" Ro added, turning around. He had put his front legs on the back of the tail gate so he could see outside the back of the truck. He had been keeping a his balance fairly well, considering how much the truck was bouncing.

"Well," I started in response. "I could've had some jerky instead of that soup stuff!"

"Look, it wasn't that terrible. Get over it." Matt said as he fumbled around with the laptop.

"Hmph." I mumbled. Truly, I did not mind that much; I just wanted to whine.

Matt said nothing, but opened up the laptop and turned it on. He began pressing a lot of buttons, but I couldn't see what he was doing, for I could only see the back of the screen in my position.

"How does he do this....?" Matt mumbled as he paused for a second.

"Do wat?" Ro asked, turning his head in a puzzled position.

"Ah..." Matt said aloud.

"Ah wat?" Ro asked again.

Matt began typing carefully. "Here..." he said, now clicking with the track ball.

"Here wat?" Ro asked for a third time.

"Matt, what are you doing?" I questioned. Now he was making me curious, too.

"Done." Matt stared at the screen for a few moments. "Take a look." He turned the laptop around. I leaned over to get a better look; Ro walked over, too.

On the screen was a small block of text. It said, 'Data unknown. No record of lifeforms.' Also on the screen were several boxes, all with nothing inside them.

"What is dis?" Ro asked.

"It proves that you two are not Digimon." Matt said.

"Huh?" I began to scratch my head in confusion, but stopped when I realized that my claws were hurting my head.

"Izzy used to use this computer to scan the data of Digimon we came across, so we could find out more about them." Matt explained. "I just scanned you guys..."

"Wat?!" Ro exclaimed. "Witout asking us first?"

"Ro..." I shook my head in disapproval.

"As you can tell, it doesn't recognize your data." Matt continued, referring to the text. "This means you aren't Digimon."

"Well, that's good....I think." I responded.

"You shoulda asked first..." Ro said in a low voice, then turned back to his perch on the tail gate.

"Unfortunately, I still don't know what you are." Matt finished.

"Well, thanks for...narrowing it down, I guess." I told Matt, trying to thank him.

"Huh?" Matt stared at the screen.

"I said-" I began.

"No, I heard you. But..." Matt trailed off.

"You've got mail." said an electronic voice from the computer.

"At a time like this? Who could have sent it?" I said, moving next to Matt to see the screen.

On the screen was an E-mail inbox. There was a single message, that had no title. It did not say who sent it, either.

"I'll open it." Matt said, moving the track ball to click the E-mail.

"Yuh-oh!" Ro worriedly said. "Guys!"

We looked to where Ro was looking. Approching fast were a trio of motorcycles, side by side. On the bikes were three ogre creatures.

"Ogremon!" Matt said, then hurried back to the computer. "I'll power this off for now."

"Ogremon? Figures..." I said, referring to the obvious name of the motorcyclists.

Matt and I headed to the tailgate, where Ro was watching the Ogremon. They were still charging forth on their bikes, and I could now see that they were quite mad.

"Miss us, you dumb lizard?" yelled out the Ogremon in the middle of the pack.

"Who are you?" I called back as they came closer.

"Don't remember us? Let me jog your memory!" replied the Ogremon. "You have my backpack, you little thief! You also took that dog from us! I, Wess Pogner, do not appreciate that!"

"Oh, crud..." I said aloud.

"Who are they?" Matt asked.

"Day are mean!" Ro responded.

"I had to fight them to save Ro a while ago." I explained. "Didn't think they'd be back..."

"Well, we've got to do something. They're kind of close!" Matt stated, looking out the back again.

I turned, and learned that Matt had just made a large understatement. The bikers were only a few feet away from the truck!

"Geez, what do you want?!" I shouted to the rogues.

"You and the dog would be fine!" responded Wess, obviously the leader.

"Why do you want them?" said Matt as he stepped forth.

"Oh, you have a new friend?" Wess smiled. "Good! This will make things more interesting!"

"Sir! He's unique, too!" said the Ogremon on Wess' left.

"Shaddup, Derek!" responded Wess. "You think I don't know that?"

"Sir, let's attack quickly..." said the Ogremon on the right of Wess.

"You better have a good reason for giving an order to me, Sean!" Wess replied.

"Um, we put an even amount of gas in each motorcycle, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Wess answered.

"Then, um, we're out of gas, sir..." Sean responded slowly.

The engines in each motorcycle suddenly stopped, almost at the same time. As we sped ahead, leaving the quickly slowing motorcycles in the dust, Wess called out one more time.

"We'll get you! Arrrgh! We'll get you next time!" said Wess, getting off his motorcycle and stamping his feet.

We were completely quiet as they disappeared out of sight. Matt broke the silence by saying, "What idiots..."

Ro and I laughed in agreement. 


	17. Two Important Messages

Chapter 17: Two Important Messages  
  
We returned to the now dormant computer. As Matt turned it back on, Ro went back to his place on the tailgate. That dog had his eyes even more focused on the road behind us. Perhaps he wanted to make sure that the Ogremon wouldn't come back. I was personally sure that we had seen the last of them....at least for a little while.  
  
"It's from Genni." Matt stated simply. I turned back towards him to see him reading a message on the screen of the laptop. I sat down next to Matt, who was obviously very comfortable, thanks to a pillow he had found and sat down on.   
  
"Who's that?" I asked as I turned to the pile of medical supplies behind me, and began searching for a pillow of my own.  
  
"Genni's a weird man that lives in the Digital World." Matt said, looking back at me. "He knows quite a bit about almost everything Digimon-involved. I don't know where we Digidestined would have been without him."  
  
"So he's got some useful info?" I speculated as I turned back to Matt. I had satisfied myself with a pillow about half the size of Matt's. Normally, it would have been too tiny to be worthwhile. However, in my smaller, inhuman size, it was good enough.   
  
"Not really, he's just checking up to see how we're doing." Matt replied. "He knows everything that has happened, and is trying to find a solution."  
  
"So, nothing useful to us right now?" I guessed, glancing at the screen.  
  
"Nope. But I'll reply and tell him everyone has been seperated." Matt began typing on the keyboard, but quickly stopped.  
  
"Mind if I put in some information about you two?" the tiger-boy asked, reffering to Ro and I.  
  
"No, I don't care....think this Genni could figure out what Ro and I are?" I answered.  
  
Matt shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
As Matt went back to typing, I admired his typing ability. While it was nothing unusually good, I was impressed that the Gabu-boy could still type quickly and fluently with his new hands. I began to wonder how long he had been in his current form.   
  
I was also still very curious about Matt little brother, T.K. I knew what this kid had become(a Patamon, of course), but that's about it. My dilemma was that Matt seemed to not want to talk about his brother. It likely pained him that his little brother was going through the inevitable hard times. Being the youngest in my family, this was only a guess.  
  
"By the way, Matt..." I began. "I remember you saying that you Digidestined caused this whole thing to happen. Uh..."  
  
"You're wondering how." Matt predicted wothout stopping his typing.  
  
"Well, yeah." I said sheeplessly.  
  
"To put it as short as I can..." Matt started. "We saved the Digital World, Genni told us in an E-mail that we could go home and opened a warp to the real world, we entered the warp with our Digimon, and the part of the message we hadn't read said not to bring our Digimon back."   
  
"Uh-oh...so what then?" I said as I leaned back on the pillow and closed my eyes.  
  
"So, after finishing the message, we were knocked out in the warp." Matt continued. "We all awoke in our own homes, without our Digimon."  
  
"Your parents must have been surprised." I related.  
  
"No, thanks to a time warp in the Digital World, they never even knew we left." Matt explained. "Anyways, we were all really confused about where our Digimon were. We were going to meet up and figure out what happened, but..."  
  
Matt stopped typing and talking at this point. I opened my eyes, and saw that he had a very sad look on his face. I would admit that he looked very pathetic, more so than if he was human. This was mainly due to the fact that he was likely, to use a girl term, 'adorable'.  
  
"Matt...you don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." I said with a note of sympathy.  
  
"No, it's okay..." Matt said softly. "Well...before we could meet up, I guess we all just blacked out."  
  
"Again?" I said aloud.  
  
"Yes. We all had dreams about our Digimon." Matt sighed. "In my dream, in was in a void with Gabumon, and he was calling for my help. I tried to run to him, but I could never reach him..."  
  
"I had a dream like dat." said the motionless, but obviously attentive, Ro.  
  
"You did, Ro?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," the puppy responded. "except for dere was dis bone, and it was saying, 'Eat me! Eat me!', so I ran ta it, but I couldn't reach it..."  
  
"I don't think that's exactly the same, Ro..." I chuckled.  
  
"I'm sure he didn't wake up transformed, anyway." Matt said, noting Ro's dream.  
  
"Oh...you woke up...I see." I mumbled. "And the whole world was...?"  
  
"Normal, besides us Digidestined." Matt smirked. "Later on, we were going back to a certain campsite on a bus. You see, we were going to return to the Digital World to see Genni again, and that was the only place we could go back from. Anyways, the bus driver had a heart attack, and died right there."  
  
"And then what?" I was drawn into this tale.  
  
"We were on a bridge at this point. When the driver died, we almost completely smashed over the bridge. Kari and...my little brother, Digivolved into Angewomon and Angemon to save us." Matt spaced out at this point, with a proud look on his face. "T. K. was very brave."  
  
"I'm sure...uh, what did you mean by, 'Digivolve'...?" I began.  
  
Matt resumed both his typing and his normal serious face at this point. "A Digimon can Digivolve into a more powerful form for a little while. So, when the two of them Digivolved, they were stronger and could fly, so they went outside of the bus and lifted it back to the road, thus saving us from certain doom."  
  
"So how did da world go bad?" Ro whined impatiently, still not bothering to remove his eyes from the road.  
  
"The action of T.K. and Kari Digivolving sent a 'shockwave', of a sort, over the world. This turned everyone into Digimon." Matt answered.   
  
"So that's what you meant when you said that you Digidestined caused this all to happen..." I trailed off.  
  
"Yes." Matt confirmed. At this point, he stopped typing. "Well, I've sent the message. Hopefully Genni can find some useful information for us soon."  
  
I barely heard Matt say this, as I now had a new thought in my mind. If the world had been turned into Digimon because of these Digidestined, then why was that 'Dark Armor Guy' lurking around?  
  
At that point, something dawned on me involving the robot Ro and I had met in the vents. I had never known an army using something like that...  
  
"Matt, do you know of the army using robots to guard things?" I asked, seeing if he had seen or heard of any robots.  
  
Matt looked at me with a puzzled expression. "No...that wouldn't really make any sense. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well," I began. "when Ro and I were entering the mall, we had to go through a ventilation shaft to get inside. In there, we encoutered a robot that seemed to be patrolling."  
  
"That's strange..." Matt mumbled. "I guess the army must have been using them, though."  
  
"Maybe it's da armor guy's robot." Ro blurted out, glancing at Matt and I.  
  
"What armor guy?" Matt asked. He then looked at me sternly. "Have you been hiding something?"  
  
I sighed. "I guess it's time to be completely honest with you, Matt."  
  
"You should be; I've been honest with you two." Matt reasoned with a glare.  
  
"Okay, Matt..." I began. "We - Ro, John, my sister, and myself - came from Tannerville, Illinois. One night, when John was having a sleepover at my house, we heard my sis screaming. We went outside to see this guy in dark armor approuching her, and we tried to save her. I guess this weirdo knocked us all out, and I woke up in the Tokyo City Park alone...and..." I looked down at myself. "...like this."  
  
"Hmmm...." Matt mumbled. "Did this guy in armor look like any Digimon that you've seen?"  
  
"Hardly. I think he was human." I responded.  
  
"And you all come from the United States? How'd you end up here?"  
  
"I have no idea." I answered. "And before you ask, no, I don't know where my sister is."  
  
Matt stood up and began pacing around. "This is getting more and more complicated..."  
  
Suddenly, an electronic voice began talking on the computer. 'Mail detected in the Junk Mail folder. Terminate?'  
  
Matt stopped pacing, and sat sown at the screen again. "Curious..." he mumbled. "Izzy never has to delete mail in that folder...he has a special junk mail blocker..."  
  
"Check it out, then." I suggested.  
  
Matt pushed a few buttons, and then a message appeared on the screen. This is what it said:  
  
  
  
-----------------------  
  
Dear Mr. Kobida,  
  
As you are well aware, the United States and the rest of the world are in complete disarray. A joint action has been ordered between all of the available military personnel. You are instructed to do so in in the nation of Japan. Use any tactics to restore order.  
  
On another matter, our scientists have concluded that the epicenter of the infection occurred in Japan within a 30-mile radius from Tokyo. We also believe that the original carriers may have abnormalities in their type and size range. Handle them with extreme caution.  
  
Any strange occurrences with these or any other carriers must be reported immediately. I expect to have a videoconference with you in some point in the next 72 hours. Keep in contact.   
  
General McCalvin, of the United States Government.   
  
-----------------------  
  
"You're right. That is curious. How'd Izzy get it?" I said after reading over the E-mail.  
  
"Probably, the message was sent over an open channel." Matt answered. "I can't think of any other way he could have gotten the E-mail."  
  
"Wat C-Mail?" Ro asked, once again without moving.  
  
"It's E-mail, Ro, and if you want to see it get over here." I responded sternly.  
  
"Oh, fine." Ro sneered, coming over to sit on my lap to view the message.  
  
"Has dat video conference happened yet?" Ro said with a puzzled expression.  
  
"Well Ro, there is probably another 36 hours or so before it happens." Matt said before I could answer Ro.  
  
At that moment, I noticed that the truck's engine was revving down. A glance out the back of the truck conformed that we were in the hospital grounds, as a saw a sign that said 'Searheart' on it pass behind us.  
  
"I think this is our stop." I said with a grin.  
  
"I noticed. We should probably jump out now." Matt responded.  
  
"Alwight." Ro answered.  
  
"Okay, we'll-" I started, then it dawned on me what Matt had just said. "What?!?!"  
  
"We'll be spotted if we get off when the truck stops. I'm sure that there'll be some guards to get the stuff that's there." Matt said, pointing a claw towards the medical supplies behind us.  
  
"But...you guys can land better than me, considering your forms are better for that!" I argued. Both Ro and Matt were similar to dogs, and I knew that I was like a lizard. I was pretty sure dogs landed much better than lizards. But I knew it was fruitless to argue, as both Ro and Matt had gone to back of the truck, posed to jump out. "Ah, fine...let me get my backpack..."  
  
"Grab the laptop too, while you're at it." Matt ordered.  
  
I grumbled as I grabbed the computer and stuffed it in my backpack. After placing the pack on my shoulders, I clambered up to the back of the truck, and posed myself to jump also. "I had better not sprain my ankle..."   
  
"Don't worry, Master, you don't have wun now!" Ro said with a smile.  
  
'Good point, Ro.' I thought to myself.  
  
"Alright, everyone!" Matt said with an in-charge kind of voice. "On the count of three! One...two...three!" 


	18. Infiltration

Chapter 18: Infiltration  
  
I hit the ground last. The weight on my shoulders made my landing fairly painful; luckily, I landed on a strip of grass. Still, it made my body ache.  
  
"Ow..." I groaned as I placed the backpack on the ground and stood up.  
  
I looked over to Matt and Ro. I barely held back a laugh; from what I could tell, Ro had landed on top of Matt, barreling both into a tree.  
  
Matt pushed Ro aside and stood up. "Don't even..." he threatened about my oncoming laugh.  
  
Ro bounced right up. "Danks for lettin' me land on ya! You soft!" he thanked Matt.  
  
That did it. I burst out laughing.  
  
"Shut it." Matt grumbled.  
  
I stifled my laugh and looked around. We were in a field nearby the road leading to the hospital entrance. I realized that we had likely been traveling a long time in the truck, as the sun was setting.  
  
"Doesn't look like there's anyone around here..." Matt inquired. "Let's head up to the hospital, but be careful."  
  
We did just that. We could easily see the top floors of the Searheart Medical Hospital, even from our distance. The building must have had at least six floors.  
  
As we got closer, I noticed one thing unique about the structure; it looked undamaged. All the other buildings I had seen so far in Tokyo were damaged in one way or another from the riots, from a broken window to collapsed stories.  
  
"Hey guys, I think that the Japanese Army may have taken over the hospital." I announced.  
  
"What tips you off?" Matt replied.  
  
"The building. There's not a scratch on it. From what I can tell, the only way order is kept now is for the army to control everything."  
  
"Yah, dere's a guard now!" Ro exclaimed.  
  
I focused my attention on the road we were walking on. Sure enough, there was a rock-like creature dressed in guard's clothes heading our way from the hospital. He hadn't seemed to see us yet, however.  
  
"A Gomamon." Matt said grimly. "There's no palce to hide..."  
  
"I will not go down without a fight..." I snarled.  
  
"I know! I run past him, and you take him out!" Ro replied. Before Matt or I could say otherwise, he ran at the guard.  
  
The guard was obviously doing just a routine patrol. I wonder what he thought when he saw the dog run right past him.  
  
"S-Stop!" the guard yelled to Ro.  
  
I rushed to the guard. He had put his rifle up, ready to shoot Ro, so he hadn't noticed my approuch. Unfortunately, I realized I had one small problem. The guard was apparently made out of rock, so how would I knock him out? I panicked.  
  
All of a sudden, Matt ran next to me, yanked the gun out of the surprised guards' hands, and hit the guard on the head with the stock of the rifle. He went down with a thud.  
  
Matt breathed hard, obviously as scared as I was. "You should of thought of that, Xaiver."  
  
"It work!" Ro said as he ran back happily.  
  
"Ro, you almost got shot! Don't do these kind of things without our consent, do you hear me?!" I lectured.  
  
The puppy drooped his head. "Sorry, master... I just wanna help..."  
  
"Just be more careful..." I sighed.  
  
"We should keep going, before more guards come along." Matt said to us.  
  
I glanced back at the unconscious guard. "Yeah. They'll be looking for this one soon."  
  
Ro and Matt immediately continued to the hospital. I took a moment to put some of the guard's gear into my backpack: a communications radio and a baggie of Cheeze-Its. After thinking a moment about ethics, I also took the guard's clothes off and threw them into my pack.  
  
"Yo, what took you?" Matt asked as I caught up with him and Ro.  
  
"Just getting a few supplies." I grinned.  
  
It was only a short walk to the front entrance from there. As we cautiously approuched the entrance, we all noticed one small problem. Instead of the usual sliding glass doors, there was a huge metal door in the way of the entrance.  
  
"Um...guys..." I started. "Is it just me, or is that NOT a normal hospital entrance?"  
  
"It not just you, Master!" Ro agreed.  
  
"No guards around, either...I suppose with a door like that, you wouldn't really need any." Matt inquired.  
  
"I can open it." Ro mumbled.  
  
"What?" Matt and I both said in unison.  
  
"Want me ta open it?" Ro asked politely.  
  
I shrugged, then nodded. Ro walked up to the door and closed his eyes. After a moment, the dog opened his mouth and breathed a steady flow of fire at the door.  
  
"What th-" I began. Matt grinned, obviously enjoying the 'show'.  
  
After holding this stream of fire for over 10 seconds, Ro closed his mouth and sat down, panting.  
  
"It...too...protected..." he explained.  
  
"Ro?! How the heck did you do that?!" I shouted in excitement.  
  
Ro stood up, obviously recovered. "I dunno, I just make it come outta my mouth."  
  
"I knew that this was possible." Matt said in a low voice.  
  
"What's that, Matt?" I asked, turning to him.  
  
"When I checked your guys' data, I also found out that your element was unlike the Digimon elements." Matt explained. "The three Digimon elements, or types, are Data, Vaccine, and Virus. But you two were of the fire type."  
  
"I kinda guessed that I was." I said, glancing back at my flaming tail. "But does this mean I can breathe fire too?"  
  
"Probably." Matt shrugged. "It just would make sense."  
  
"Base to Goma! Base to Goma! Do you copy?" a voice came from within my backpack.  
  
"The radio...!" I exclaimed, and hurredly fished it out of my pack.  
  
"Base to Goma! Base to Goma! Report now!" the voice on the radio said again.  
  
"Why did you grab that..." Matt cringed. "Give it to me."  
  
"Uhhhh...ok." I handed him the radio. He cleared his voice and pressed the 'Talk' button.  
  
"Goma to Base. Everything's fine on my end." Matt spoke with nearly the same voice as the Gomamon guard we had taken down earlier.  
  
"Good to hear, Goma. We'll open the doors now." the voice on the radio answered.  
  
Matt grinned, then pressed the button again. "Confirmed."  
  
"Dat was good!" Ro praised Matt.  
  
"It's nothing. Here, put this back into your backpack" Matt said, tossing me the radio. As I placed it back in my pack, sounds came from the huge metal door.  
  
We dashed to a nearby set of bushes. "So I guess we'll be going for the frontal assult?" I asked Matt.  
  
"Just follow my lead." Matt answered.  
  
At that moment, the metal doors creaked open...  
  
Ed: About time for an update, eh? I've been awfully busy. I'll try my best to update whenever I've got the chance. 


	19. Searheart Accessed

Chapter 19: Searheart Accessed 

Two guards stepped outside the doors. They looked around, puzzled, trying to figure out where their fellow guard had gone.

"Shouldn't he be around here?" inquired one of them, a white bear-like creature that would have been fairly docile-looking if it wasn't for the assault rifle held by it.

"He should. But he isn't." answered the other, a robotic-like Digimon.

"So what? Should we leave 'em?"

"No. We'll get a demerit. Let's go look for him." the robot suggested.

As the robot and the bear began down the path and past our hiding place, Matt turned to me.

"The Guardromon is the same guard that was speaking on the radio. Hand it over again."

"Huh?" I asked, though it obviously wasn't the best time to question. Matt grabbed my backpack away and fished out the radio.

"Make ferocious noises." Matt said simply. "But make them close to the radio. Don't want them to hear us from this bush."

"Huh?" I asked again, very confused. He sighed, annoyed, and pulled me closer to the radio.

Matt pushed the 'talk' button again.

"Goma to base! Goma to base!" Matt yelled into the radio, imitating the rock Digimon yet again, but this time in a much more frightened voice. "I'm under attack!"

"Base to Goma! What the heck is going on?" yelled back the robot guard onto his radio. I could still see him with his companion down the road.

"I - I'm being attacked by a freaky…" Matt looked at me. "…lizard scum!!"

Matt drew the radio close to my snout, and mouthed 'Your cue.'

I blushed a bit, but considering the seriousness of the situation, I readily complied.

"Raaawr-roooar-raaaar!" I yelled into the speaker, then backed away.

Matt gave me a small grin, then turned serious again and spoke into the radio again. "He's…he's too much for me!! Help!"

"Where are you?!" responded the robot. I looked down the road again, and could tell from their movements that the guards were buying it - and were quite agitated.

"West of the hospital! I was pursued by the creature a long distance!" Matt responded back.

The guards were off running. I suddenly understood why Matt had told them that direction. It led them both away from us, and away from the knocked-out guard.

"We'll call for backu-"

"No! There's no time!" Matt stated in a disdainful, rushed voice. "Hurry!"

"Okay! Okay!" the guard yelled again.

"Oh no!" Matt shouted, acting suddenly surprised. "He's going to-"

Without another moment, Matt drew his claws and slashed into the radio. It sizzled lightly for a moment, then nothing.

"There." Matt grinned, throwing the trashed radio to the ground. "Now they won't bug us anymore, either."

I smiled, impressed with Mark. But quickly it turned to a frown. "'Freaky lizard scum?' That wasn't too nice."

The Gabumon boy shrugged. "Hey, it worked."

I sighed. "Thanks to me."

"Danks to ya both." Ro, after an unusually long bout of silence, spoke up with reason. "Let's not fight an' stuff, okie?"

I smiled to my little pet, and extended my paw to pet him. "Alright, alright, Ro."

Mark shrugged, then looked back to the open doorway. "The door of opportunity is open…"

Understanding what he was implying, I stood up and situated the backpack on my back. "Then let's take the opportunity."

Ro sniffed inside, then bounded in cautiously. We followed.

The hospital entrance was vacant, but large and luxurious. A dark red carpet covered the ground, well suited to the light wood beams and grey marble desk that was also present in the room.

The air was the usual recycled hospital air that I had smelled so undesirably before. An intercom was occasionally coming on, calling doctors to different rooms.

"This place seems to be running smoothly. If I didn't know any better, I might think that everything was back to normal."

Mark only nodded. He scanned the room. "No security cameras."

I realized the thought hadn't even come to mind, and was thankful that Mark had come up with the idea to check.

I walked up to a sign showing the layout of the hospital. I quickly note the immense size of the building. There were a total of four floors: the first floor, which we were on, held the lobby, cafeteria, offices, and a few patient rooms. The second floor was dedicated to patient rooms. The third floor held a nursery, some meeting rooms, and some vacant rooms. Lastly, the basement floor, which held a number of labs and engineering departments.

"Where exactly would Tai be..?" I pondered.

"Hmmmmmm." Ro mumbled.

I glanced at him. "You can read?"

"No, but I thought it be fun to look at it and go 'hmmmmm'."

I sighed again. Matt came up to the map and studied it for a while.

"This is a problem." he said quietly.

"You don't know where Tai is, either." I predicted.

Matt nodded, scratching his head. "The labs seem like a good possibility. But so do the patient rooms. And unfortunately…"

"The patient rooms are on the first and second floors, and the labs in the basement." I noted. "It's going to take way too long to cover that much ground."

"And who knows how many guards there are. Or where they are." Matt added.

I waved my tail anxiously. "So…"

"We jus' gotta split up an' look around and stuff." Ro reasoned.

"That would work…" Matt began, and thought for a moment. "Okay. I'll take the second floor. Ro, you take this floor. And Xaiver…the labs are all yours."

I nodded slowly, somewhat frustrated by Matt's in-charge attitude. "Alright. I suppose we should tread carefully…"

"Dere could be guards anywheres?" Ro asked.

"Pretty much. Play it safe. Don't get yourself seen." Matt explained. "When you've checked out your floor, go outside to that bush we were in and wait for the rest of us. If you find Tai, get him out if you can." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, looking determined. "Let's go."


	20. The Test Subject

Chapter 20: The Test Subject 

I hurried down one of the halls, searching for a flight of stairs to descend towards the basement.

As important as this mission was, I was beginning to feel angry with Matt's treatment. Time and time again, he had ordered me around.

"Do this, do that…" I sneered for a moment, before realizing I was making needless noise.

I glanced towards an elevator. Noticing it went to the basement, I pressed the 'down' button to call the elevator.

I held my paw there for a moment, observing my paw and arm. 'It must be because of what I look like. He thinks I'm dumb because of what I look like.' I clenched my fist, accidentally letting out a low growl.

I stopped abruptly, and sighed silently to myself for making yet more useless noise. 'Maybe he's right. I wonder if I'm losing it…' I closed my eyes to relax for a moment.

A 'ding!' made me open them abruptly. The elevator had come. I dashed behind a plant and watched the elevator doors open.

After a few moments with nothing coming out of the doors, and no noise coming from inside them, I inched silently into the elevator.

I hurriedly pressed the 'B1' switch, and relaxed a bit once the doors closed.

'I need to get out of this body…' I whined to myself. 'I need to get out of all this stress…'

My thoughts were again interrupted. The elevator stopped, and I almost recoiled due to the noise coming from the basement hallways. How was I going to get past what sounded like tens of people?

I hid in a corner of the elevator, not sure what do to, as the doors opened.

An answer was quickly given to me, as I watched a drowsy-looking creature dressed in a lab technician's outfit meander into the elevator. He slowly pressed the button for the first floor, and slumped against one of the walls.

"Man…too much work…too long a shift…" the technician droned on.

"Then you should take a nap." I responded after inching behind him, and kicked him upside the head. He fell with a groan.

I quickly unclothed the creature, finding him to be something similar to a purple rabbit, though a wicked-looking one. The suit was a tad small for my body, but covered me from head to toe, save a hole for my tail. Looking at the reflection of myself off the light-lit metal wall of the elevator, I concluded that I would pass as just another technician.

The elevator opened at the first floor again, and I took the opportunity to drag the bunny behind a couch. I knew he wouldn't wake up for a while.

I hurried back to the elevator and again it descended towards the basement floor. I stepped out and was treated to a most busy sight. Many different creatures were running to and fro, obviously following strict orders. All were dressed in suits just like mine, though in numerous sizes.

The business encouraged me, however. It would be much easier to blend in with all the noise. And with the business came the heightened possibility of finding Tai.

I walked down the hallway – long as it was – and looked carefully at the labels of each door I came across. 'Janitorial Dept.' 'Bio-Medical Engineering Dept.' 'Lab 1'…

"Hey! You!"

I glanced nervously over my shoulder at the voice, and jumped a bit as I realized the command was directed at me. The speaker was a large, large creature, almost three times my size, also dressed in a lab outfit.

"Yeah, you, red fire tail guy." He sneered, talking as if he would rather do anything else in the world besides talking to me. "You a new techhie?"

I froze for a minute, fumbling with my words. "Um…y-yeah…that's right..uh…what's up?.."

He laughed mockingly. "Reptiles."

I felt very irritated by the comment, but he continued. "You're needed in Lab 5. It's an important subject for testing. They need more help. The lab's that way. Go." he volleyed out.

He spun me around to the direction he desired and pushed me hard. I stumbled, but quickly stood up again and moved towards Lab 5, wherever that was. I moved with haste, flaring mad for the treatment of the technician. Once I knew that the mocker was out of sight, I ducked into a doorway and breathed for a moment.

"Focus…on the mission.." I tried to calm myself in a quiet voice. "Look for Tai…rescue him…get out."

I punched a wall to relieve myself of my anger, then rushed down the hall again. Finding Lab 5 wasn't difficult; it was one of the few rooms with double doors.

Pondering what the burly technician had said about an 'important subject for testing', I decided to give the lab a try. 'Plus, who knows. He might try to kill me or report me or something if I don't go in.' I thought grimly to myself.

I opened the doors and stepped into a curious room. There were many medical instruments, tools, and machines all around. In the center of the room was something similar to a patient bed, but was covered over by glass and had numerous machine grouped around it and also attached to it.

Several technicians were milling around the room, checking displays on the machines and glancing over to the bed once and a while. One of them quickly came up to me.

"Good, more help. We need it." The laboratory employee, about equal to my size, said kindly to me. "And what's your name?"

"Shut it up, Gabun." One of the other technicians yelled at him. "Don't waste your time making friends. We've got work to do."

Gabun shrunk away. "Work the habitation mainanary unit, please." He asked me, pointing to a machine close to the glass bed structure.

I nodded slowly and walked up to the machine. I decided to fake a few button presses to the unit's interface, then casually stole a glance to the bed. I had to hold back a gasp.

It was Tai.

_Ed: I'm glad to return after too long a delay! Sorry, my fans, for that year's wait. A lot has gone on in my life, and I also felt quite disappointed since Kanada took his version of this fan fic (remember, mine's actually a retelling of his that takes a different viewpoint) down offline. I thought my story wasn't worth much after that.   
__   
But I came back and read all the nice reviews and pleas you peoples left me. It made me all teary eyed… sniff _

Now I have made a sincere promise to complete this fan fic. So I'm not backing down! Yee-haa!

Hope that you fans aren't too mad at me. I won't do it again! Or if I do, I'll leave a distinct warning beforehand!

…Anyways, I'll try to chug out a good number of chapters AQAP. (As Quick As Possible) Hope that I haven't lost my touch!


	21. Partner

Chapter 21: Partner

I stood there for a moment, watching the unconsious form of Tai - probably kept asleep by some sort of drug. Even within his sleep, I could see the pained, troubled expression across the 'head's' face.

"A bit pitiful, isn't it?" the technician who had welcomed me earlier approuched me silently, observing my focus upon Tai.

"Um, yeah." I mumbled, a little nervous. I took a moment to observe him. The technician was just a tad taller than me, and I noticed he also sported a tail: a yellow one. "Have we...learned anything? From him, I mean."

"Not much." the technician seemed compassionate. "It's a shame. There's...something about him." he shrugged. "Doubt we'll ever find that much."

I nodded slowly, thinking of a way to get Tai out without attracting attention. I couldn't think of any.

"Why don't we just let him go?" I hesitated. "I mean, if we can't learn that much from him..." I hoped I had not sounded too obvious.

The technician stared at me silently for a moment. Then he glanced at the machine I was supposed to be operating.

"You don't know how to work that, do you." he lowered his voice, suddenly becoming very serious.

My heart nearly stopped. I shook my head slowly. Was I about to be found out?

"Hm.." he pondered me for a moment more, then turned to the rest of the technicians in the room.

"I'm..." he put a gloved paw on my shoulder. "We're...taking a little break."

The rest of the staff hardly cared to acknowledge us. The one apparently in charge gave a wave of his hand in acceptance.

I was guided out of the room by the technician, and then to a nearby restroom. It was empty.

"Who are you?" he asked, curious yet non-threatening. I detected a hint of hope in his voice.

I stayed silent. He shifted his weight. Was he nervous too?

"Have you...heard of someone named Matt?" he asked suddenly.

My surprised showed, even through the covered lab hood I was wearing. He laughed a little, but in a sad tone.

"Are you with him? Or against?"

I bowed my head, debating whether or not to respond. Or how to respond.

"Answer." he commanded.

"With." I blurted out quickly, recoiling a little to prepare for the possible consequences of my answer.

We stood in silence for a minute. It felt like an hour. Finally, the technician laughed softly.

"So...Matt...how is he?" he asked, sounding concerned.

I stood silently. "You know him."

"Yes." he answered quickly. "I am...his partner."

I breathed slowly. Of course; now I realized it. I now knew who this was.

"Gabumon." I predicted.

He nodded. "Nice to meet you." Gabumon approuched me. "Now, who are you, and just why are you here?"

I explained the whole situation to the Digimon. He was focused and very receptive while I talked.

"I see..." he pondered after I had finished. "Alright. A lot seems to be happening...we need to get Tai out of here quickly."

I nodded. "But how'd you get involved with this place? And when?"

"I came in recently." he sighed. "I took a great risk and was able to get recruited. They really needed the staff, and they did not know I was a prison escapee. They believed I was a certified worker." the Digimon smiled sadly. "I knew I should keep tabs on Tai, make sure nothing...bad happened. That's all I could do..."

"Where are all your friends?" I began. "The Digidestined, their partner Digimon. You all escaped..."

Gabumon nodded. "Yes, we did, I think. But...we got separated." he groaned a little. "I only know where that one, Davis, is. I think he might know something about where the others are, but...he's really just mean. Even worse than when we first found him. He won't tell me anything, and even attacked me."

I nodded. "I heard he was a handful."

"I think he almost seems insane." Gabumon shook his head. "I couldn't do anything about it."

"We can deal with him later." I suggested. "For now..."

Suddenly, an alarm went off, loud and alerting. I knew what it signified: either one of the unconscious guards had been found, or one of our 'search team' had been discovered.

"They found us out." I said shakily. "We need to get Tai and ourselves out of here. Now!"

_Ed: Hi again everyone! Hope that the latest chapters are going well for you all. Anyways, there are two things I wanted to address in this note._

_First off, my e-mail is now ! Secondly, and I am not afraid to admit it: I don't know all that much about Digimon. I wish I did, but...well, I don't._

_It's starting to cause me some problems and I was wondering if some of you could help me out! If anybody can answer any of these questions, throw it in a review or e-mail me._

_1. I need some suggestions for humanoid (or anything that stands on two legs) Digimon. Anything will do, but please make them first season Digimon; throw some names out._

_2. Personalities of the partner Digimon and the Digidestined of the first season. I think I already know a bit, but I need to make sure..._

_3. Stuff about Genni! I don't know all that much about the dude._

_If I think of more stuff I'm clueless about, I'll throw in another note at the end of the next chapter. Thanks in advance for the help!_


	22. The Daring Escape

Chapter 22: The Daring Escape

Gabumon and I ran out of the restroom quickly. Chaos was in the halls, crowds of people running about in a panic.

"The lab!" I shouted to Gabumon. Pushing his way through the crowd, I let the Digimon lead. Several times I was almost knocked over by the occasional collision with another person, likely heading to the elevator in the opposite direction.

We finally reached the lab as a loudspeaker broke through the confusion and noise. "Code aqua! Code aqua!" the speaker shouted loud and commanding. "Intruders have invaded the vicinities!"

We rushed into the lab. It was empty, fortunately. Gabumon got to work at opening the large glass lid over Tai's bed. I soon joined him and, with a heave, we slid the covering off.

Tai was breathing lightly but abruptly. I glanced over to Gabumon. "Will he wake up?"

Gabumon shook his head. "He's too sedated." Reaching out for the Koromon (as Matt had earlier explained to me what Tai was called in his current form), the tiger-like Digimon gently took Tai from his bed. Gabumon protectively held Tai close to his stomach, which the sleeping Digi-human nuzzled into gratefully, a look of calm finally settling into his face.

"Alright." Gabumon nodded to me. "Let's go."

I nodded and turned towards the exit – just in time to see a large humanoid figure slam the doors open and enter the lab. I backed up with a start. Even with his lab technician suit on, I knew quickly who it was.

"Ha! Hahaha! The reptile. What a surprise." Mocked the creature. The same creature who had forced me to Lab 5. "Filthy creature! I knew that you weren't here to work."

The technician sneered before continuing. "And I suppose you wanted to steal the specimen, the one and only possibility to restoring all our lives!" He stepped closer. "What kind of a fool are you?"

I felt my anger rise, even against the much larger being. "You're right! He can help restore everyone's lives! But not like this! Not by testing him and observing him!"

He leaned forward with mock curiosity. "And what, pray tell, could the little ball there ever amount to without some hard research being done on him?"

Gabumon held me back from saying more. "He will save us." The Digimon glanced to me for a moment. Then he said determinedly, "Let us go."

The massive technician laughed heartily. "Or I could just crush you like the filth you are!"

The movement was swift. The technician ran forward with such speed it almost didn't register with me that he even moved. Gabumon let out a shout. He was about to be hit by the technician's raised arm!

"No!" I jumped toward the technician like I had never jumped before, swiping my claws about in an enraged fury. My blows struck the technician's face, causing him to stumble.

"You dirty lizard!!" the technician screamed out as I landed. I could only glance up before an underhand blow hit me in the stomach, causing me to fly back a short distance.

I growled in pain but stumbled to my knee, glancing at the technician to see him slowly approach me, his attention towards Gabumon lost. I quickly observed the damage I had done. The technician's face mask was removed, and I stared into the scary face of the figure. It was metallic but humanoid and a metal plate covered the upper half. Cut out of that were two holes for the technician's frightening, glowing eyes. His neck was strewn with several wires.

"It's an Andromon!" Gabumon gasped, still holding Tai protectively. "Xaiver!"

By the panic in Gabumon's voice, I knew that this guy, Andromon, was tough. And he looked like it.

"Gabumon! Go!" I yelled, pointing to the doorway.

"Rrrghh!! No!!" the Andromon technician yelled in a fury and panic, running to intercept Gabumon from exiting.

I scrambled to my feet. But there was too much distance. Too little time. And the Andromon had another blow primed for the back of Gabumon's head!

Suddenly, a thought struck into my mind. Ro using flame breath to try to open the front door of the hospital. Me and him both being of the 'fire' type.

"_I kinda guessed that I was." I had said, with a glance at my flaming tail. "But does this mean I can breathe fire too?"_

_"Probably." Matt had responded. "It just would make sense."_

I blinked for a moment. I knew what I needed to do now.

After throwing my face mask off, I quickly breathed in, and then back out as hard as I could. At first, nothing happened. An instant later, however, I felt something open in the back of my throat, and a burst of fire escaped rapidly from my mouth, scorching the technician's back moments before he made contact with the readied attack He let out a howl of pain and fell to the ground.

"Xaiver..." Gabumon looked at me, obviously shocked at either my appearance (now revealed with the mask off) or my attack.

"Gabumon!" I hurried over, wasting no more time. "What's the most indiscreet way outta here?"

He recovered quickly. "The service elevator!"

"Lead on!" I commanded, glancing back only for a moment at the figure whose back I had blackened. He was still on the ground.

"Dirty...trick...you...disease-ridden....pest.." he sputtered out.

I dashed out of the lab with Gabumon. The Digimon glanced down the right end of the hallway. Looking with him, my heart rushed. The hallway was being slowly organized and searched by a platoon of guards, putting the panicking lab technicians in order and looking...for us.

"Hurry!" Gabumon nudged me, holding Tai more closely so as to conceal him.

We rushed all the way to the end of the hallway. The large, heavy doors explained quickly to me that it was the service elevator.

I helped Gabumon heave open the outer metal doors, the Digimon having only one paw free (the other holding Tai), then the Digimon slid open the fence-like inner door.

Suddenly a guard noticed our efforts. "Hey! Stop and move away from the elevator!"

A section of the platoon broke off and pushed their way through the crowd towards us.

"Quickly!" Gabumon had already entered the elevator, and I hurried after him.

The guards pushed all the way through the crowd.

Gabumon pointed to the outer doors, which we began to close.

The guards aimed their guns.

The outer doors shut just before the guards fired, but the bullets shot through the metal haphazardly in some places, fortunately not hitting us. Gabumon fell to the ground to escape the fire.

I slammed shut the inner gate-door, hit the 'Up' button, and threw myself onto the floor of the elevator next to Gabumon. I felt the wind of a bullet barely above my head as I hit the ground.

The elevator started up, thankfully, quite quickly, sending us out of the line of fire.

I breathed heavily. "You okay, Gabumon?"

He nodded, looking down at Tai, still held safely in his arms. I respected the Digimon's care for the safety of the Digi-human.

Gabumon got slowly to his feet, and I did the same. "The exit is left, then right, then directly forward. We need to rush it."

I nodded, dreading the numerous possibilities. Was there going to be a regiment of guards ready to shoot us as soon as we exited? Or would it be a clear path?

The elevator groaned to a halt, and shook as it stopped. I silently opened the doors with Gabumon...

There was nothing outside of the elevator. I glanced carefully along both directions of the hallway outside. Nothing.

I motioned Gabumon to come out, and we rushed quietly down the left corridor.

As we reached the point where we were to turn right, I heard sounds of fighting in that direction. No guns were being shot, but it was brutal-sounding close combat. I heard Ro bark.

"It's Ro!" I explained to Gabumon. "My pet! Stay here and come out when I tell you to!"

"Pet?" Gabumon said, puzzled, but nodded.

I rushed out into the entrance lobby just in time to see Matt land a fainting blow onto the jaw of a guard. Ro was nearby, barking-cheering along.

He hardly glanced at me. "Well?!" he look exhausted. I guessed it was a difficult fight.

"Hi Master!" Ro said casually.

I nodded. "Gabumon! It's okay! Let's get outta here!"

Matt glanced, surprised, first at me, then at the appearing Gabumon, then atthe Koromonin his partner's arms.

"Matt!" Gabumon shouted.

Matt recomposed himself. "Let's get the heck out of here!"

No one disagreed. We all dashed out of the hospital. It was black, night, the only light produced by a half-moon. But it was also quiet.

Sensing no danger, we hurried off of the hospital grounds.

_Ed: Here's a nice long chapter for you all. Somebody-or-other said they were getting too short. So...I serve to please!_ )

_Also, I have another question. Can anybody tell me the attacks of the rookie forms of the Digi-destined's Digimon? And describe what they look like / how they are performed? Thankies!_

_In addition, if any of you feel you have an ideaabout what should happen next in my story, by all means share it. It might help me sometimes. _ )

_Lastly, I want to say that I always appreciate a good critique. If you feel something's not right, or feel I could improve in some aspect, by all means share it._

_Thanks!_


	23. Rest and Planning

Chapter 23: Rest and Planning

I collapsed onto the rickety bed, it groaning even under my little weight. I stared up at the cracks in the ceiling.

Ro curled up next to me. Glancing to the cheap wooden table in the room, I observed that Matt and Gabumon were seated at it. They were talking quietly. Lastly, looking towards the other bed in the room, I noticed that Tai had been placed comfortably on a pillow.

After our escape from the hospital, we had just ran and ran... Finally, upon re-entering Tokyo City, we had found a cheap hotel; it was abandoned. Matt had found the key to Room #203 from the lobby, and we had hustled into the room, happy for a chance to take a break.

It took only a moment to throw off the lab clothing - something I had no time to remove earlier - before collapsing onto one of the beds. Gabumon had placed Tai onto the pillow of the other bed before seating himself at the table. Matt soon joined the Digimon, and they were talking, too quietly to hear. I assumed they were just catching up for lost time.

Ro was very tired. Glancing down at the dog, I realized he was already fast asleep.

Scratch that; we were **all** tired. We had all been busy, doing so much. Only now did it hit me that I was completely exhausted.

I glanced over to Matt and Gabumon again. They were still talking, but they were stealing the occasional glance at me.

I groaned softly. They were talking about me; probably discussing what exactly I was.

Feeling self-conscious, I turned away from Matt and Gabumon. I checked myself over again, examining my body.

I hated this. I was just a short, strange-looking lizard with its tail on fire.

Matt never seemed to respect me. Maybe I didn't blame him. Those Orgemon, the Andromon...they had all insulted me. But maybe the insults were true. Maybe I **was** stupid, filthy, dumb...

A tear escaped my eye, dropping onto Ro's fur. He didn't seem to notice, still slumbering away.

I reached down with my paw to wipe the wet tear out of his fur, then decided to just pet the dog. He responded gladly to my attention, wagging his tail limply in his sleep. I curled around the dog, laying my tail across his body.

_'At least I have you, Ro...'_ I thought, shedding another tear.

I awoke the next morning with the sun glaring in my eyes. Blinking, I turned away from the window I was incidentally facing. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my paw and sat up. Looking around the room, I noticed that Gabumon and Ro were gone. Tai was still sleeping on the pillow, and Matt was typing away on the laptop. (We had left the computer - and my backpack - outside the hospital entrance before going inside, and had hurriedly grabbed the items again during our escape.)

"You slept late." Matt said without looking away from the screen.

I yawned, glancing at the nearby digital clock. It read 11:27 AM.

"Where's everybody?" I asked, getting slowly to my feet.

Matt shrugged. "Getting food. They're looking around the hotel."

I nodded, then walked over to Matt. "What are you doing?" A glance at the screen partly answered my question; I saw a picture of myself on it.

Matt chuckled lowly. "Researching you, of course...Charmeleon."

The tiger-boy glanced at me, perhaps interested in how I would react.

"Charmeleon." I repeated, the word strangely flowing off my tongue effortlessly. "Is that what I am now?"

Matt smiled. "Yeah." He turned back to the screen, reading a few lines to himself, then reciting them back to me. "Charmeleon, species Lizard, type Fire." Matt looked back at me, reclining in his chair. "The Charmeleon is brave and loyal, but also quick to anger."

I absorbed all the information. "How'd you...get all that?"

Matt shrugged. "Nothing special. I just kept scanning you." He tapped the computer. "It's meant to scan Digimon's computer-like data, but with a little tweaking of the settings..."

I nodded, pondering my 'name'. "Charmeleon. Charmeleon. The word seems familiar somehow..."

Matt shrugged again, booting down the laptop and laying it aside. "I suppose you **should**, since you are one."

I nodded again, slower this time. I didn't think that was the reason. It didn't **feel** like the reason...

The door to the room suddenly opened, interrupting my thoughts. From outside bounded in Ro, followed by Gabumon, who was holding a grocery bag in his arms.

For the first time, I observed Gabumon without the technician clothing on. (He had cast it away because, like myself, he found it unneccessary and uncomfortable.)

The Digimon was similar to Matt, but furrier and a little less human-shaped. The fur Gabumon had also appeared to be 'worn', like it was in fact a piece of clothing. While I didn't question it further, I noted that Matt's fur, in contrast, seemed to be actually part of his body.

Gabumon placed the bag lightly onto the tabletop. "We found a store. There wasn't anyone there...so we just took some food. Was that okay?" He look to Matt.

Matt nodded warmly, then stood and dug into the bag. In moments he had layed out its contents on the table: 3 red apples, 2 boxes of crackers, and couple bags of jerky, and a couple of dog bones.

We started out breakfast. I ate heartily upon one of the bags of jerky. Matt and Gabumon each had an apple and shared one of the boxes of crackers. Ro, of course, worked on a bone.

After our meal, we seated ourselves around the table to discuss what we were going to do next.

"Gabumon and me discussed this already, last night." Matt began.

"We decided that we need to find out where the others are, because we can't do that much on our own right now." Gabumon chimed in.

"So we're going to go have a talk with Davis." I predicted.

Matt nodded. "Hopefully he won't try to fight us. Though it's a strong possibility."

"Are Veemons tough?" Ro asked, referring to Davis.

Matt shrugged. "He doesn't seem that dangerous. He tried to attack some guards when we were arrested...But he was overpowered pretty easily."

"But we aren't that sure what his skills are." Gabumon added.

I thought for a moment. "But shouldn't you know, Gabumon? I mean, you're a true Digimon. Shouldn't you know all about other Digimon?"

"Nobody can know everything, Xaiver." Matt glared at me.

"He does have a point, Matt." Gabumon intervened. "I have never seen or heard of a Veemon until I saw Davis. I wouldn't even **know** that he was called a Veemon if it wasn;t for that computer." Gabumon pointed to the laptop.

I nodded. "So another never-before-heard-of creature. Just like Ro and me."

"'Cept we aren't Digimon...I think." Ro added.

"We have decided that Xaiver and myself will go see Davis." Matt explained.

I leaned on the table. "Why not all of us?"

"Gabumon and Ro will look after Tai. He'll be waking up sometime today." Matt answered, glancing at the snoozing Koromon.

"We'll hold the fort, as you say." Gabumon smiled.

"Well, sounds fine to me." I answered. "When do we leave?"

Matt stood up from the table. "Right now. The sooner we get things done, the better."

I nodded, standing up myself. "Should I bring anything?"

Matt smirked. "Just your fire-breathing skills."

I blinked, realizing that Gabumon must have told Matt what I did to the Andromon.

After a quick exchange of good-byes, Matt and me walked outside and away from the hotel.

_Ed: Hi again, everybody! Sorry for the time between updates! Unfortunately, I have been awfully restricted from the computer, so I can't update very often. I'll try to get a new chapter out as soon as I can! Thanks for your patience!_


	24. One Explosive Veemon

Chapter 24: One Explosive Veemon

We headed towards the apartment complex where Davis was staying - the place, I learned, where all of Matt's and Gabumon's friends had also stayed before their group was arrested. Since I had watched the arrest take place, I attempted to watch for familiar territory.

I quickly grew bored of this, and since Matt was staying particularily silent, I let my mind wander.

How quiet it was. It seemed most of Tokyo was that way now. The army had likely rounded up most of everyone in the city - and in only days, at that.

I kicked a rock as we walked. The sound was amazingly loud in this still environment.

"Ever wonder how your family is doing at a time like this?" Matt asked suddenly.

I stopped kicking the rock. "My family...?"

Thoughts began to rush through my head. My family. Were the conditions in the States the same as here? Everyone getting rounded up and imprisoned? Dad, Mom...were they captured?

And Sis...Angela...where was she now?

Matt continued, answering his own question in a faint voice. "While we were prisoners, we were taken to the mall in a truck. Before the truck took off, I looked into the truck next to ours...and there was my father."

Suddenly, a memory rushed back. I remembered Matt looking over to the other truck.

"You called out to him..." I added absentmindedly.

Matt stopped and looked at me, startled.

"Ro and me...we were under the truck." I explained, also stopping.

He nodded. "And then...I became really angry. And scared. The guards prodded me back..."

"You cried out in pain..."

A tear streaked down Matt's cheek. He turned away. "I almost Digivolved there. I didn't, but..."

I looked into the sky. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"It seems..." Matt stammered. "Those of us that were once...human...regain some human characteristics when our emotions get out of control."

I glanced at him again. Tiger boy looked better, his usual serious expression back.

"When our emotions get out of control, we Digivolve...usually." Matt continued.

"That's why you look more human." I realized. "Than Gabumon, that is."

Matt silently nodded. I could tell he was still thinking about his dad.

We started walking again. I found another rock and half-heartedly kicked it. "I have a mom...and a dad...and Angela, my sister..."

Matt nodded slowly as I droned.

"And...well...I dunno." I sighed. "We just need to stay positive, I think. Mom and Dad are probably okay...captured, likely, but probably okay...and Sis...well, she can handle almost anything! You do **not** want to mess with her!" I laughed.

Matt smiled for a moment too.

We continued our trip in silence - a much more comfortable one. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of a large apartment building.

"We're here." Matt stated simply.

I recognized the place quickly, though I noted that it was in more disarray than the last time; more rubble, more crumbling buildings.

We climbed the steps to the second level, walking gingerly. Many of the apartment doors were open, with a ransacked apartment waiting inside. Finally, we reached a closed door.

Matt knocked. Again. Again. Finally, a voice, whiny and high-pitched, cried out from inside.

"I TOLD you, I won't tell where they ARE!! SCRAM!"

Matt shook his head and sighed. The voice - Davis - seemed to almost have rehearsed this.

"Davis." Matt convicted, sounding almost fatherly. "Don't make me have to come in there."

"Matt? HA! Yeah right!" Davis responded. "If you even try to turn that handle, I'll blow us both SKY-HIGH!"

Matt and I recoiled in horror.

"No response, tough guy?!" Davis' voice was panicked, but threatening. "That's right! BOOM! As in a bomb! Explosives and a match, actually! I HATE this! I hate it all!!"

Matt glanced quickly at me, then pointed to a nearby window. I understood.

"Davis, wait. Can't we talk about this?" Matt bargained, buying me time.

I tried the window; it was locked, and would open no more than an inch.

"Talk? TALK?!" Davis shouted. "Can YOU make me human again? Huh? HUH?!"

Opening the window that one inch, I glanced at the lock. It was at the bottom of the window, near the sill.

"Maybe I can, Davis." Matt said intriguingly.

I positioned my head level to the lock and began to breathe - very slightly - a flicker of flame, quickly heating the lock.

"HA!" Davis sneered. "Lies! All lies!!"

The lock split in two. I opened the window all the way.

"Then what? What do you want from me?" Matt pleaded.

I entered the window with a quick but quiet hop, and found myself in a bedroom.

"I wanted you to LEAVE! But now I think I'll just KILL US BOTH!!"

I peered out of the bedroom to see the Veemon next to the front door, hovering a lit match over several sticks of dynamite.

"Wait! Davis! There's a better way!" Matt exclaimed desperately.

I grabbed a nearby broom.

"SHUT UP! ENOUGH TALKING!" Davis screamed.

The Veemon loosened his grip on the match.

I swung the broom. Direct hit on his head. He was out.

But the match wasn't.

It touched down atop the dynamites' fuses. They began to burn down, the flames approaching the sticks.

I bundled the dynamite frantically up into my arms. Searching quickly, I found a window on the other side of the room.

I ran to it. It was closed. Who cares.

I brought up my foot and kicked, my toe claws shattering the glass. I tossed the dynamite as hard as I could out the window.

"GET DOWN!" I screamed to Matt before following my own command.

Only half a second later, a large explosion rang loudly outside. The whole building rumbled.

I breathed deeply, still on the floor. I had survived without a scratch, but if I had been any slower.

"Xaiver...?" Matt called out.

I sat up. "It's on in."

Matt did. First he glanced at the knocked-out Veemon in the doorway, then at me sitting by the window.

"I knocked him out." I explained. "With a broom handle. The dynamite ignited."

Matt walked over to the window and looked out. "You threw it out there."

I nodded, standing. Glancing outside, I saw the crater left in the alley below the window. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good work." Matt sighed. "Let's get ourselves and Davis out of here before anyone shows up."

I agreed. Matt picked up the Veemon with a grunt, slinging him over his shoulder. We shuffled out the door.

_Ed: Another year, another update. I have another chapter already lined up, but no time to post it! Wish me luck that I can bring the next one out soon!_


	25. The Ride

Chapter 25: The Ride

Sirens. Never a good thing.

That's what we heard as soon as we had left the apartment. In the distance we could hear the roar of the trucks producing the alarm, getting ever-closer to our location.

"Must be a patrol. Figures that they'd post units around the city." Matt frowned. "We're on foot, and they're definately not."

I looked casually around the surrounding vehicles, but as I expected, there was nothing of interest. The cars were totaled in one way or another. "So we've gotta hide, I take it?"

Matt's suddenly put on a startled expression, and I stopped. Listening carefully, I could hear another vehicle approuching. It sounded like it was just around the block...

And it was. Before we could react, a pink convertable spun around the corner, heading our direction. Lacking a better idea, I readied another blast of fire in the back of my throat. The car approuched...

Matt suddenly blocked my mouth with his paw. "No! Don't!...It's..."

I looked a little harder and now noticed the driver and passenger in the convertable were two cat-like creatures. "Kari and Gatomon!" I exclaimed, remembering.

The car screeched to halt at the curb in front of us. The driver, Gatomon, gave us a wink. "We were wondering what all the ruckus was! You troublemakers want to make a clean getaway?"

Matt smirked. "How can you even touch the gas pedal in that thing?" he jabbed, putting Davis on the far side of the backseat before climbing in himself.

"A mixture of skill and blocks of wood." Gatomon giggled, before turning to me. "How 'bout you, you...um..."

"My name's Xaiver. I'm a Charmeleon." I blurted out as I climbed in the back seat myself. "And yeah, I'm coming...thanks."

"Uh...sure." Gatomon shrugged. "So, where we going?"

"Back to Tai." Matt smiled at Kari. The quiet cat-girl eyes lit up at the mention of her brother's name. "Just start heading north, Gatomon. You know the cheap hotel up there on the outskirts of Tokyo?"

"Vaugely." Gatomon smirked. "I'll find it."

As Gatomon got the car moving again, Kari turned around in her seat. "You saved Tai?"

"Yep." Matt smirked. "He's safe and sound with Gabumon and another friend right now."

Looking at me, Kari smiled a delicate smile. "So...your name is Xaiver? Did you help save Tai too?"

'Finally...someone giving me credit...' I thought to myself. "Yeah...I helped quite a bit in all that." I glanced over to Matt, who gave me a yielding shrug.

"Thank you...both of you..." Kari smiled sadly. "I hope he's okay..."

"Uh, boyos, I don't mean to cut the chit-chat, but...look in front of us!" Gatomon suddenly stopped the car.

An army truck had suddenly rounded the corner. Although it was not the one already pursuing us with full siren, the driver immediately got the idea that we were the cause of some trouble. He revved his engine and waited for our next move.

"I spotted some movement in that truck bed..." Matt informed. "Probably some guards who won't mind shooting us if we try to go past them."

"Well, there's only one way to find out, hm?" Gatomon said playfully. "Though I think I can discourage the idea of shooting..."

The convertable's wheels spun out as Gatomon hit the accelerator. Our car barrelled forward, straight at the truck. As expected, some soldier revealed themselves from the truck bed, guns aimed. But when they noticed our assault, they instead began to yell at their driver to get out of our way.

With the mad dash Gatomon was pulling, I hoped he'd move too!

When we were almost upon the truck, Gatomon floored the brake and swung the back end of the car towards the truck. It scraped along the side of the truck before our wheels regriped the pavement, shooting us down a left turn.

"A bit of a detour, Matt." Gatomon stated casually. But it won't take-"

A series of gunshots richocheted off the convertable's back fender. I glanced back to see the army truck fast approuching, the guards up top reloading their guns. The driver must've had fast reflexes to turn and pursue us so quickly.

"Great! Just great!" Matt yelled out. "Everyone, get down! They're about to shoot again!"

They fired as soon as we had lowered our heads. This time, the gun fire ripped along the top of the seats.

"Damn!" I exclaimed. "That was too close!" I looked behind to see the truck almost upon us. The guards were reloading, almost casually now. "They certainly have a take-no-prisoners mentality today!"

"I think they's firing warning shots..." Kari suggested. "They're missing on purpose. But this next shot..."

I looked back again. They were almost ready to fire. I carefully stood up on my seat, facing towards the truck.

"What the heck are you doing, Xaiver?!" Gatomon exclaimed. You're gonna get killed!"

"No...I don't think they know what they're in for." Matt chuckled.

The guards were ready to fire now. They paused, confused why I would stand up and make myself a target.

But now I was ready to fire, too.

I allowed a burst of flame to escape my throat, creating a cloud of flame towards the guards. They recoiled in surprise, temporarily disorganized.

But I couldn't see the rubble on the road ahead.

"Xaiver! Sit-" Gatomon exclaimed, but it was too late.

The car bounced hard over the debris, and I was thrown out of the car. I clawed the air frantically, my time airbourne seeming to last a decade, before I saw I was destined to land on the hood of the truck. I turned my body and thrust my claws toward the slick metal surface I was about to hit.

Like a cat landing on its feet, so I instinctfully succeeded at making a secure landing on the hood. I looked into the window to see the shocked driver begin to reach for a handgun on his seat.

I needed to move. I looked up at the front of the truck bed, and realizing that the guards above hadn't seen me, decided that the only thing to do was go around.

I eased my way to the passenger side door and gripped the door's handle, finding a precarious foothold at the bottom of the door. I ducked my head below the passenger window moments before the driver, gun in hand, shot the glass out of the window. I winced as the shards rained down on me, and suddenly lost my footing. My toe claws began to scrape along the pavement streaking by, and I barely supported myself by holding onto the door handle.

Soon I reoriented myself, only to have part of the passenger-side door shot through by the driver. And the shot was much too close to me...

I looked towards the truck bed. It was tall, allowing the soldiers above to have a nice vantage point, and was made of planks of wood criss-crossed together. I grabbed onto the top of one of the planks to the left of the door, an swung myself over to the side of the truck moments before three more bulletholes appeared where I had been standing.

Now I held onto the beams forming the side of the truck bed. I looked up to see one of the guards staring down at me in disbelief.

'Oh crap...'

Suddenly I remembered a basic fact of life: wood burns. I took in a deep breath and exhaled a blast of fire into the inner workings of the wood. Sure enough, a fire was kindled.

The staring guard began to yell at his comrades, who all stared over at me.

'Enjoying the show, people?'

Suddenly they looked past me, yelled, and readied their weapons at something beyond me. I looked over my shoulder to see the convertable pulling up alongside the truck.

They were about to fire at the convertable! There was no chance the soldiers would miss this time! And I was not in the position to ready another attack myself...

Matt suddenly sprung up and yelled at the guards. "YOU'RE ON FIRE!"

The guards paused for a moment, quickly noticing the flames spreading about the bed, before they dashed over to the front of the bed, yelling at the driver to stop.

"Xaiver! Jump!" Matt shouted, sitting down.

I turned, took a deep breath, and propelled myself off the wooden frame towards the back seat of the convertable. I landed cleanly on the seat, landing partially on Matt's lap.

Gatomon revved the engine and shot past the slowing truck. The flames were spreading quickly now, and the guards were already beginning to climb off the truck.

"Alright! Home free!" Gatomon shouted.

"Yeah, and you can get your head out of my lap now, Xaiver." Matt groaned.

I blushed, and raised my head. "Sorry...it's, uh, fuzzy." I shrugged.

Kari giggled at my comment. Matt only rolled his eyes and pushed me away.

"Okay, lover boys, that's enough." Gatomon playfully admonished. "Save it for when you're alone."

"Hey!!!" Matt and I said in unison.

Gatomon laughed. "Kidding! Kidding!"

Geez. What an interesting group we were gathering.

Ed: I made a promise. To finish this story. And I will. Even though it looks like I'm going to be homeless around Jan. 14th, I will not stop working on this story. I'll live up to my promise. Sorry, fans, that it's been so hard for me to do so. If you'll only stick with me through a little more, I'll knock out some awesome chapters. Thanks, everyone! 


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